AURORA | Preview capsule for the 2017 Class 5A boys state basketball Sweet 16 matchup of Mountain Vista at Grandview on March 1, 2017:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
AURORA 2017 BOYS 5A SWEET 16 PREVIEW CAPSULE
NO. 13 MOUNTAIN VISTA (16-8) AT NO. 4 GRANDVIEW (20-4), 7 P.M.
BREAKDOWN: This Mark Randall Regional contest pits a Mountain Vista team that has won four of its last six games versus a Grandview squad that’s won two straight. The teams played in the regular season before winter break, with the Wolves winning 66-60 in overtime on the Golden Eagles’ home floor Dec. 15.
MOUNTAIN VISTA: The Golden Eagles lost in the second round last season, but appeared in the Great 8 as recently as two seasons ago. Coach Bob Wood’s Mountain Vista team — which finished in the middle of the pack in the Continental League — came off a first round bye to beat fellow Continental League team Legend 47-39. The Golden Eagles trailed by six points at halftime, but held the Titans to just 18 points in the second half — including five in the fourth quarter — to rally to victory. Sophomore G Simon May led the way for Mountain Vista with 14 points, followed by senior G Isaac Essien with 11 and senior G/F Miles Hughes with nine…For the season, senior G/C Jake Belknapp led the Golden Eagles in scoring average at 16.8 points per game and also paces the team in rebounding (.2 rig) and blocked shots (2.0). Junior G/F Connor Staib was held scoreless against Legend, but averaged 12.4 points per game, which included a 20-point effort in the first game against Grandview, while Essien averaged 11.4 points per game and a team-high 6.3 assists, though he has played in just 10 of the team’s 24 games.
GRANDVIEW: The Wolves were upset on their home floor by Arvada West in the second round of last season’s state playoffs, but made sure that didn’t happen again with a different level of determination this season. Coach Michael Rogers’ Grandview team came off a first round by with a decisive 78-51 victory over visiting Grand Junction Feb. 25 in a second round game it controlled from star to finish The Wolves showed remarkable balance with five players in double figures. Senior G Lechaun Duhart had too much speed and range for the Tigers, who he lit up for 19 points, while senior C Gaige Prim added 15, sophomore Fs Dayne Prim and Tyler Unger (four 3-pointers) contributed 12 apiece and junior G Ben Boone added 10…For the season, Duhart and Gaige Prim have been a phenomenal 1-2 offensive punch, as they’ve averaged 18.6 and 17.4 points per game, respectively, while Prim adds in a team-high 10.7 rebounds per contest as well. Boone has knocked down 38 3-pointers on the season — second to Duhart’s 62 for the team lead — and averages 8.2 points per game with the ability to explode on any night, while Dayne Prim has been very active on the inside and senior G Kain Mack and junior G Gunner Gentry contribute nicely on both ends of the floor.
WINNER GETS: The Mountain Vista-Grandview winner advances to the Great 8 round on March 4 at the Denver Coliseum, where it will face the winner of the Sweet 16 game between No. 21 Far Northeast Warriors and No. 5 Rock Canyon. None of the teams met this season. The winner takes the Mark Randall Region title and a spot in the Final Four.
