DENVER | The opening half was forgettable to be sure, but the Rangeview boys basketball team finally found its groove Friday afternoon at the Denver Coliseum.
The third-seeded Raiders struggled to get anything to fall in the first two quarters against sixth-seeded Cherry Creek in their Class 6A Great 8 clash until the third quarter, that is. The lid came off the basket in the final two quarters and Rangeview rolled to a 51-33 victory to return to the semifinals for a second straight season.
Senior Aidan Perez knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 16 points, while sophomore Marceles Duncan added 11 and junior Archie Weatherspoon V eight for coach Shawn Palmer’s Raiders, who will take on No. 2 Ralston Valley, a winner at the buzzer over No. 7 George Washington.
“That was a really nice win,” Perez said. “Some people have been saying we haven’t played the best competition, so we have to play a little bit with a chip on our shoulder. We have to show who we are, Rangeview.”
The Raiders (23-3) and Mustangs (25-1) will tip off on March 13 at 7:15 p.m., which will follow the 5:45 p.m. semifinal between No. 5 Rock Canyon (23-3) and No. 1 Chaparral (24-2).
Rangeview’s first two playoff victories — which came against No. 35 Erie and No. 14 ThunderRidge — including a combined total of 30 made 3-pointers, but shooters have notoriously struggled a bit when they shift to the Denver Coliseum.
The Raiders went through some of those struggles, as they misfired often in the opening half and couldn’t get the ball to the basket with the Bruins — including 7-footer Wyatt Carpender — protecting the paint.
Rangeview managed just five points in the second quarter, but a nice dish from Weatherspoon V to Duncan for an inside finish sent it to the lockerroom ahead just 13-12.
“We just had to rely on our defense, that’s what we knew we had to do when shots weren’t going in,” Perez said. “Those are shots we always hit, but they just weren’t falling. We didn’t have the rhythm, but we just kept defending.”
Added Palmer: “You’re not going to shoot 70 percent from three, but we weren’t taking the right ones in the first half. We settled down, we got into the flow and then the threes we took in the second half were better. …We have so many good shooters and we just couldn’t buy many tonight.”
Indeed, the game took a completely different turn after the teams came out of halftime, as the Raiders started to look like themselves again on the offensive end.
Senior Anthony Andrew got Rangeview going with a corner 3-pointer and Duncan (who knocked down six triples in the previous game and boasts a healthy 45 percent shooting average from distance on the season) finally got one to fall as well.
Perez — who averages 13.6 points per game, but had only five in the previous contest — threw down a dunk as part of a 7-0 run, then drained consecutive 3-pointers in the final 1:20 of the third quarter as the Raiders pushed the lead to 13 points. He added two more triples in the first two-plus minutes of the fourth quarter to make it a 40-25 game and put Rangeview in full control.
Palmer said he believed the offense would eventually come around, but he was pleased with the defense, which again was stellar. The Raiders have held two postseason opponents in the 30s and to an average of 44.3 points per game, which includes 63 from ThunderRidge in a Sweet 16 they still won by 21 points.
“Our defense was great all night,” Palmer said. “They are hard to guard because their point guard is good, they’ve got size and offensive rebounding, so it’s not an easy cover, but we did the job.”
Rangeview got to enjoy the final few minutes as it closed out the victory, which included a lob dunk on a pass from Weatherspoon V to Perez and then a big throwdown by Duncan, who has made dunking a habit this season.
When the game had finished, the Raiders held the Final Four plaque aloft and pointed into the stands at Rich Gomez, the team’s announcer since the school opened in 1983 who retired last year and has been fighting health programs.
“Rich called me this morning and told me he was going to here,” Palmer said. “It was really special to have him here to see it with all he’s gone through.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2026 CLASS 6A BOYS BASKETBALL GREAT 8
(3) RANGEVIEW 51, (6) CHERRY CREEK 33
Score by quarters:
Cherry Creek 8 4 10 11 — 33
Rangeview 8 5 20 18 — 51
CHERRY CREEK (33)
Aleks Birkans 0 0-0 0, Montae Johnson 4 1-2 11, Sean Kilkenny 0 1-2 1, Wyatt Carpender 0 0-0 0, Kayden Patrick 5 0-0 11, Bohdi Barnett 2 0-0 6, Tristan Robinson 1 0-0 2, Luke Zurcher 1 0-0 2, Preston Perry 0 0-0 0, Maddox Nourse 0 0-0 0, Maxwell Hodges 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 2-4 33.
RANGEVIEW (51)
Aidan Perez 6 0-0 16, Archie Weatherspoon V 2 4-4 8, Anthony Andrew 3 0-0 7, Marceles Duncan 4 2-2 11, Conrad Marshall Jr. 2 2-3 6, Dario Washington 0 1-2 1, Jaheim Robinson 1 0-0 2, Tyson Tuck 0 0-0 0, Kevin Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Nu Kumahn 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 9-11 51.
3-point field goals — Cherry Creek (5): Bohdi Barnett 2, Montae Johnson 2, Kayden Patrick. Rangeview (6): Aidan Perez 4, Anthony Andrew, Marceles Duncan. Total fouls — Cherry Creek 9, Rangeview 7. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
