The saying goes that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
But that’s not so for the Rangeview boys basketball team this year.
The Raiders have proudly displayed the fruits of the program’s first-ever trip to Las Vegas, a pre-winter break jaunt to the Tarkanian Classic that saw them go 3-1 against quality opposition. Rangeview hasn’t lost since then and the subsequent 14-game winning streak earned it the No. 3 seed in the Class 5A boys state basketball tournament, highest of Aurora’s 10 qualifiers.
“I talked to guys like (Overland coach) Danny Fisher and Coach (Grandview’s Mike) Rogers about what going to Vegas did for their teams and I really wanted to do it,” longtime Raiders coach Shawn Palmer said.
“I felt really good about the Vegas trip. Our guys have earned the right to play on a national stage. I’m really glad that teams like Grandview and Overland go out there and challenge their kids and say ‘let’s go out and play good teams.’”
Rangeview’s trip to Las Vegas in December produced a 3-1 record that included victories over Juan Diego Catholic out of Draper, Utah — a team that is currently 22-1 — Grant, Oregon, a team that won last season’s Oregon 6A state championship and a team from Las Vegas (Democracy Prep) that is 23-5.
The only game the Raiders lost ironically came to Fisher’s Overland team, which has made the Las Vegas tournament a regular on its schedule in recent years.
“The trip really helped physically and mentally prepare us,” Rangeview junior Christian Speller said. “We were able to play some pretty good teams out there other than those from Colorado and to win some of those games should help us for the long run.
“It feels like now we have the chemistry that’s going to be very hard to compete against.”
Trips to Las Vegas have sparked several Aurora teams to 5A state championships in recent years. Overland, Grandview and Eaglecrest all have won Colorado state titles after successful runs at the Tarkanian Classic.
So far, Rangeview has lost only to Overland and to Rogers’ defending 5A state champion Grandview team (by two points in December).
Since their return from Las Vegas, the Raiders’ game has reached a new level. They downed a 17-win Columbine team to start the new year and followed it up with 13-double digit victories.
“The only thing we focused on out there (in Vegas) was playing ball,” senior Jodaun Dotson said. “We were having fun and we won as a team. It really helped give us the momentum to bring back to Colorado.”
Because Rangeview plays in the EMAC, which isn’t considered one of the power conferences like the Centennial and Continental leagues, the Raiders feel they are still under the radar going into the postseason, even with one of the top four seeds in the tournament.
Using that as motivation, Palmer and his players feel they could make a deep postseason, maybe to the Final Four, where the program went in 2016 before back-to-back second round losses to Eaglecrest the past two seasons.
The Raiders have Grandview to contend with in its quadrant of the bracket, but like their chances of making it to the Denver Coliseum.
“We were happy to get as high of a seed as we did; the RPI hasn’t been too kind to us the last couple of years,” Palmer said. “Then again, we didn’t win as many games or play as well. Bottom line, if you want to advance in the tournament, you’re going to have to beat good teams.”
Chemistry is a real key to Rangeview’s success and could come into play in the postseason, as has the rise of senior post player Quincey Jewett.
A part-time varsity player last season, Jewett has blossomed into a double-double machine this season and leads the Raiders — 5A’s highest-scoring team — in average with 16.6 points per game, as well as rebounding (11.7 rpg) and blocked shots (2.7 bpg).
Surrounding him is a plethora of shooters such as Palmer’s son, Cade, Dotson, Christian Speller and Obi Agbim, while Christopher Speller is a slasher who averages 11 points and four assists per game and creates a lot of plays for teammates.
A variety of role players who contribute in big spots reminds Palmer of the team he had that went to the 2016 5A Final Four.
Aurora is set up for a big showing in the 5A state tournament as four other teams besides Rangeview — No. 4 Overland, No. 6 Grandview, No. 7 Smoky Hill and No. 10 Regis Jesuit — earned top 10 seeds and are in position to move deep in a state tournament considered wide open.
Vista PEAK, Aurora Central, Gateway (in the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade in the first season under Ian Calvert) and Cherokee Trail also made the postseason, but were eliminated in the opening round.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
AURORA’S CLASS 5A 2ND ROUND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE (FEB. 23)
Douglas County at Smoky Hill, 1 p.m.
Highlands Ranch at Regis Jesuit, 1 p.m.
Legend at Eaglecrest, 2 p.m.
Windsor at Rangeview, 2 p.m.
Horizon at Overland, 2:30 p.m.
Boulder at Grandview, 3 p.m.
