AURORA | The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team’s first game in the Class 6A state playoffs looked a lot like its regular season finale, as it weather a charge from a visiting team wearing black and gold before going on to victory.
The ninth-seeded Raiders pulled away in a close game with Rock Canyon in the regular season finale and put on a similar type run spanning the late second quarter and early third quarter to get enough distance to defeat No. 24 Monarch 74-62 Friday night.
Senior Lucas Dickinson tallied 22 points to pace Regis Jesuit (18-6), which also got double-digit scoring from junior Eric Fiedler with 19 and junior Joseph Haubert with 10. Dickson and Fiedler each had double-doubles with 10 and 12 rebounds, respectively.
“This time of year, I tell our kids, even though you’re supposed to be better than the other team, it’s not like you can come out and immediately put them away,” Regis Jesuit head coach Ken Shaw said. “They had the talent and the ability to hang around a little bit. We just had to have patience and keep playing like we play. Sometimes it takes awhile to kick in.”
The victory sent Shaw’s Regis Jesuit team on to the Sweet 16, where it will be at home again March 4 for an all-Aurora matchup against No. 25 Grandview. The Wolves (14-11) won a play-in game to get into the tournament, then knocked off No. 8 Horizon with a 59-55 road victory.
Updated 2025 Class 6A boys basketball state playoff bracket & scoreboard, here
Three of the four teams remaining in Quadrant 1 of the 6A bracket hail from Aurora, as No. 1 Rangeview is in its other Sweet 16 contest against Denver interloper George Washington, the No. 16 seed. No. 2 Eaglecrest (a victor against No. 34 Rocky Mountain, story) and No. 22 Overland (which upset No. 11 Broomfield on the road) also remain alive among Aurora teams in the Sweet 16.
To get to at least the Sweet 16 for the sixth consecutive season, Regis Jesuit had to get past a Monarch team that came into the game on a four-game winning streak and had seen plenty of postseason teams during the regular season.
The Coyotes (14-10) — who the Raiders hadn’t faced in the postseason since back in the first round of the 2019-20 postseason — stayed within four points after one quarter and actually took a lead with an early surge in the second quarter.
Justin Myers’ two free throws followed by a wing 3-pointer pushed Monarch out to a 26-20 advantage with just 2:50 left in the opening half.
Regis Jesuit finally got some momentum, however, and ran off 10 of the last 12 points of the half. Dickinson scored in traffic to end the Coyotes’ run, while senior Mason Marshall scored on a coast-to-coast drive and senior Alec Roumph scored six points on a basket and four free throws to send the Raiders into the lockerroom ahead 30-28.
The lead grew to double figures in the third quarter and to as many as 17 on an inside hoop from Fiedler midway through the final quarter. The advantage dipped into single digits inside the final two minutes but some easy transition hoops against a pressing defense got and free throws from Dickinson and Fiedler moved it back to 12 points at the end.
Next up for Regis Jesuit is its first postseason meeting with Grandview since a Great 8 loss back in the 2019-20 season. The Raiders defeated the Wolves in the second round of the 2014-15 state playoffs in the only other postseason meeting.
Shaw is certainly wary of the challenge.
“In basketball, when it’s one and done, it’s all about how you play the night of the game,” he said. “A lot of people read too much into records and previous things. It can be an indicator, but more often than not, it isn’t. We know Grandview is a solid team defensively with size and good athletes, so we’ll have to be efficient in what we do.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 6A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS (1ST ROUND)
(9) REGIS JESUIT 74, (24) MONARCH 62
Score by quarters:
Monarch 11 17 13 21 — 62
Regis Jesuit 15 15 19 25 — 74
MONARCH (62)
Justin Myers 1 2-2 5, Aden Clark 2 0-0 6, Dylan Ehrnstrom 7 2-2 19, Logan Laverty 3 2-2 9, Riley Montemayor 1 1-2 4, Kade Gonzales 4 2-2 10, Ryder Hutton 2 0-0 6, Liam Sousa 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 9-10 62.
REGIS JESUIT (74)
Zachary Harlan 4 0-0 8, Mason Marshall 2 0-0 4, Lucas Dickinson 9 4-6 22, Alec Roumph 1 6-6 8, Eric Fiedler 5 8-13 19, Joseph Haubert 4 1-1 10, Brandon Hawkins 1 0-0 3, Deion Cesario-Scott 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 19-26 74.
3-point field goals — Monarch (11): Dylan Ehrnstrom 3, Aden Clark 2, Ryder Hutton 2, Riley Montemayor, Logan Laverty, Justin Myers, Liam Sousa. Regis Jesuit (3): Eric Fiedler, Joseph Haubert, Brandon Hawkins. Total fouls — Monarch 15, Regis Jesuit 9. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None
