AURORA | The Rangeview boys basketball has a lot of championship-level attributes, but it needs the energy of Kenny Black-Knox III.
The top-seeded and undefeated Raiders got a charge from their senior sparkplug in the third quarter Friday night to help them shake off a challenge from No. 33 Cherokee Trail in an all-Aurora Class 6A first round playoff contest.
Black-Knox III had just three points in the opening half as Rangeview held just a three-point lead, but he knocked down two 3-pointers and threw down a dunk in a burst in the third quarter that helped propel his team to the Sweet 16 with a 62-25 victory. He finished with a game-high 16 points for coach Shawn Palmer’s Raiders, who also got 14 from freshman Marceles Duncan and 10 from sophomore Archie Weatherspoon V.
“I want to make sure everybody feeds off my energy, make sure nobody’s heads are down and keep them up,” Black-Knox III said. “The atmosphere was incredible. …I feel really good, but the job’s not done.”
Senior standout LaDavian King scored seven before he exited with an injury in the third quarter and did not return.
Rangeview (24-0) moved on to the Sweet 16 — where it hasn’t been since 2022 — and will play host to No. 16 George Washington, which defeated No. 17 Fairview. The Raiders and Patriots met twice in City League play and Rangeview won 68-59 in overtime at George Washington and 61-51 at home.
Updated 2025 Class 6A boys basketball state playoff scoreboard & schedule, here
Cherokee Trail, meanwhile, finished the season 10-15 and reached double figures in the win column for the first time since the 2017-18 season with its play-in win over Erie. Sophomore Jordan Mitchell paced coach Brandon Brown’s Cougars with 10 points, while senior Vince Guthrie added six.
Rangeview is one of five Aurora area teams among the final 16, as it joins No. 2 Eaglecrest (which topped No. 34 Rocky Mountain, story), No. 9 Regis Jesuit (a victor against No. 24 Monarch, story), No. 22 Overland (which upset No. 11 Broomfield on the road) and No. 25 Grandview (which knocked off No. 8 Horizon on its home floor).
Cherokee Trail earned the program’s first postseason win when it knocked off No. 32 Erie in a play-in contest on the road, then felt its gauntlet of a Centennial League season would make it ready to take a shot at knocking off Rangeview.
The Cougars indeed hung tough in the first half with a hot start from Mitchell, plus some help from the Raiders, who missed five free throws in the second quarter and scored just five points to go into halftime up three points.
“I felt good about how we were playing in the first half, we were guarding really well and getting quality shots and free throws,” Palmer said. “We missed five free throws, missed some open looks and had a little nerves, but once we settled in and continued to guard, the ball started to go in. Then the confidence came and success breeds success.”
Guthrie made a layup in the first minute of the third quarter to make it a one-point game, but Rangeview’s defense tightened and the only other point for the Cougars in the rest of the period came on a technical free throw from Jack Berry.
Meanwhile, the Raiders got a number of high-percentage shots in the paint and also started hitting from the outside. King knocked down a 3-pointer to up the lead to six, while Black-Knox III, Duncan and senior Royce Edwards converted short shots to get the edge to double figures.
The Raiders blew it open after that as a Duncan dunk — that yielded the technical chance for Cherokee Trail when it was deemed he hung onto the rim too long — followed by Black-Knox III’s burst. He rolled in a 3-pointer with 1:55 left in the period, swished another a minute later and then skied for a one-handed dunk to make it 41-20 after three.
“I’ve seen that since freshman, sophomore year with Kenny,” Edwards said. “I love seeing him play good in front of a big crowd. …When he’s playing like, I have to get him the ball.”
Weatherspoon V drained two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and sophomore Yasin Sekue threw in a wild over-the-head shot with an and-one free throw as Rangeview continued to ride the momentum through to the finish.
Next up is another challenge in George Washington.
“They are a good team and they played us really well at their place,” Palmer said. “We’re going to have to play well and we’re going to have to score the ball a bit from time to time. I’m happy for them, it’s never a small thing to be in the Sweet 16. I’m happy for our seniors to get to experience this and we’ll be at home again, so we’ll hope to use that.”
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 PLAYOFFS (1ST ROUND)
(1) RANGEVIEW 62, (33) CHEROKEE TRAIL 25
Score by quarters:
Cher. Trail 8 9 3 5 — 25
Rangeview 15 5 21 21 — 62
CHEROKEE TRAIL (25)
Jordan Mitchell 3 1-3 10, Vince Guthrie 3 0-0 6, Nathan Baack 0 0-0 0, Caleb Jensen 1 0-0 2, Jake Scott 1 0-0 3, Jack Berry 0 1-2 1, Chris Davis 1 1-2 3. Totals 9 3-7 25.
RANGEVIEW (62)
Royce Edwards 2 1-2 5, LaDavian King 2 2-4 7, Kenny Black-Knox III 7 1-1 16, Archie Weatherspoon V 4 0-0 10, Marceles Duncan 4 5-6 14, Yasin Sekue 1 1-1 3, Aidan Perez 0 2-4 2, Jus’Tus McDonald 0 1-2 1, Darris Davenport 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-18 62.
3-point field goals — Cherokee Trail (4): Jordan Mitchell 3, Jake Scott. Rangeview (7): Kenny Black-Knox III 3, Archie Weatherspoon V 2, Marceles Duncan, LaDavian King. Total fouls — Cherokee Trail 18, Rangeview 15. Fouled out — Cherokee Trail: Nathan Baack. Technical foul — Rangeview: Marceles Duncan
