AURORA | Regular season Centennial League boys basketball matchups often feel like playoff contests, so there was an extra edge when two of the league’s best teams — Overland Eaglecrest — got together for an actual postseason game.
The fourth-seeded Trailblazers played host to the 13th-seeded Raptors Saturday for a Class 5A Sweet 16 contest having won both of the previous league matchups.
Eaglecrest changed up its plan of attack in the third meeting and had Overland uncomfortable for most of the contest in front of a packed house, but coach Danny Fisher’s team eventually adjusted and prevailed 72-56.
“I had a lot of angst going into this game,” Fisher admitted after his team won its ninth game in a row and improved to 19-6.
Overland moved into the Great 8 for the second straight season and will matchup with No. 5 ThunderRidge — an overtime Sweet 16 winner over Denver East — in a 2 p.m. contest March 2 at the Denver Coliseum. The Trailblazers lost to the Grizzlies by five points in the first game of the season.
To get back to the quarterfinals, Overland needed 15 points from junior big man Graham Ike and 14 apiece from senior Jalon’e Rice and junior Hezekiah Swanson to hold off Aaron Bokol-led Eaglecrest.
Bokol poured in a game-high 28 points and helped coach Jarris Krapcha’s scrappy Raptors (15-10) pull within six points on several occasions late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.
Overland managed to hold on with a big jumper from Ike — who was hounded by hard double teams all game long — followed by a layup off an inbounds pass that pushed the league back into double figures inside the final four minutes.
Senior Thurbil Bile added 12 points for Eaglecrest, which fell in the Sweet 16 for a second straight season.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
(4) OVERLAND 72, (13) EAGLECREST 56
Score by quarters:
Eaglecrest 12 18 14 12 — 56
Overland 15 21 16 20 — 72
EAGLECREST (56)
Ty Robinson 2 3-4 8, Aaron Bokol 10 7-11 28, Zion Ruckard 0 0-0 0, Thurbil Bile 5 2-2 12, Skylar Wilson 0 0-0 0, Sekou Toure 2 1-2 5, Donovan Stilson 1 0-0 2, Will Europe 0 1-2 1, Jake Wiley 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 14-21 56.
OVERLAND (72)
Hezekiah Swanson 3 8-10 14, Jalon’e Rice 5 3-3 14, Alex Pena-Avila 4 0-0 8, Graham Ike 5 5-6 15, Trevon Deden 2 0-0 5, Kaleb Chaney 0 2-2 2, Joseph Editone 3 0-0 6, Mark Thrower 0 2-2 2, Micah Hankins 0 1-4 1, Ayo Fadeyi 2 1-2 5, Tariq Adams 0 0-0 0. Ttoals 14 22-29 72.
3-point field goals — Eaglecrest (2): Aaron Bokol, Ty Robinson; Overland (2): Trevon Deden, Jalon’e Rice. Total fouls — Eaglecrest 23, Overland 19. Fouled out — None. Technical foul — Overland coach.
