AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Feb. 14-20, 2023:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
THE WEEK PAST IN AURORA PREP SPORTS, 2.14-2.20.23
MONDAY, FEB. 20: No competition was held due to the closure of school districts on Presidents Day.
SATURDAY, FEB. 18: The regular season came to an end in boys basketball with a decent-sized slate. Outside of the four games in the Centennial League Tournament, Hinkley, Rangeview and Vista PEAK completed crossover games in their first season in the City League. The Raiders were victorious over Northfield behind an 18-point effort from Mareon Chapman and 10 from Kenny Black-Knox, while the Bison also prevailed as Alante Monroe-Elazier tallied 17 points, Gabe Britton 13 and Carson McDonald 10 in a 66-50 win over George Washington. The Thunder dropped a 69-59 game to Kennedy. …The girls basketball regular season closed with a similar slate that saw Rangeview defeat Regis Groff 48-42 with help from Jenesse Byrd’s 13 points, while Vista PEAK dropped a 73-51 contest against top-ranked George Washington. …The ice hockey regular season came to a close with a 6-1 win over Battle Mountain for the Cherry Creek co-op team. Ayden Schmidt (Cherokee Trail) had a hat trick in the first period for the Bruins, while Maxamillion Taoua (also of Cherokee Trail) had three assists.
FRIDAY, FEB. 17: The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team finished off a 17-6 regular season with a 56-48 win over Legend. TaRea Fulcher led the Raiders with 21 points, while Joe Dorais had 18 and Damarius Taylor 14. …Connor Ihaia and Michael Manville scored first-period goals, but the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team couldn’t add more in a 2-2 overtime tie with Monarch in its last game of the regular season.
THURSDAY, FEB. 16: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team downed Smoky Hill for a second time with a 67-63 home win that put the Raptors into the Centennial League Tournament title game. In the other semifinal, top-seeded Grandview fell 51-35 to fourth-seeded Cherry Creek as UK Onyenwere led the Wolves with 10 points and Gallagher Placide had nine. The two consolation semifinals were close contests as Overland fell to Mullen 58-55 despite Siraaj Ali’s 21 points and Cherokee Trail dropped a 57-51 decision to Arapahoe. …The semifinals of the girls Centennial League Tournament saw wins from Grandview over Cherry Creek on one side of the bracket as the fourth-seeded Wolves prevailed 55-36. Sienna Betts had a game-high 20 points (plus 17 rebounds), while Sydney McClain added 11 and Isa Dillehay 10. Arapahoe topped Cherokee Trail 61-52 on the other side as Alana Biosse paced the Cougars with 14 points, while Damara Allen added 13 and Aaliyah Broadus 10. Nia McKenzie scored 15 points to lead three Eaglecrest players in double figures in a 56-22 win over Overland in a consolation semifinal, while Yamoni Perez tallied 13 in Smoky Hill’s 90-28 loss to Mullen. …Hana Belibi and Jane Rumpf finished with 13 points and 12 points, respectively, as the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team held on to defeat Legend 48-47. …Eianna Jackson and Amirah Pena tied for game-high honors with 22 points as the Vista PEAK girls basketball team downed Denver East 68-54 in a City League crossover. …Ian Beck scored two goals, Michael Manville had three assists and Ryan Miller saved all 14 shots he faced as the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team blanked Cheyenne Mountain 7-0 at World Arena.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15: The Aurora Central boys basketball team finished as the runner-up of the Colorado League Tournament with a 73-66 loss to Adams City in a game played at Gateway. Alejandro Flores scored 21 points, Camron Crisp added 17 and Christopher Perkins had 14. Gateway topped Skyview 44-32 in the third-place game. …The Aurora Central girls basketball team finished third in the Colorado League Tournament with a 43-36 win over Thornton as Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez (17 points) and Shaya Kelley (13) scored in double figures. …Parker Brinner had two goals and an assist and Connor Ihaia had a goal and an assist, but the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team lost 4-3 in overtime to Denver East at Big Bear Ice Arena.
TUESDAY, FEB. 14: Joe Dorais poured in 22 points, while Damarius Taylor had 15 and Nick Frontz 10 in the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team’s 88-52 win over Castle View. The girls team also came out on top (55-42) in a doubleheader sweep for the Raiders. …In boys hoops City League crossover contests, Vista PEAK lost at Denver South 57-48 and Rangeview dropped a 52-39 contest to visiting Thomas Jefferson with Royce Edwards and Kenny Black-Knox leading the way with nine and eight points, respectively. …In City League girls hoops crossover play, Rangeview downed Denver North 50-32.