TUESDAY
Boys basketball
3A/2A/1A districts
Platte Valley 68, Estes Park 27, in Kersey: Platte Valley emphatically punched its ticket to a 3A Patriot League district tournament consolation finals game against sixth-seeded Brush (5-16) at a to-be-announced time Friday in Kersey. The Broncos are the fifth seed in the eight-team tournament, while Estes Park (7-14) is seeded eighth. Platte Valley jumped out to a fast start, leading 15-7 after one quarter and 27-13 after two. Senior Braylon Edstrom led the way with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go with four assists and three steals. The Broncos improved to 9-12.
Dayspring Christian 70, Poudre Community Academy 61, in Fort Collins: Dayspring Christian, seeded fifth in the seven-team 2A District 4 tournament, was able to produce plenty of offense in this first-round win against No. 4 Poudre Community (7-6). The Eagles led 22-13 after one quarter and 40-26 after two. Dayspring improved to 6-14 and will face top-seeded Heritage Christian (17-2) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at Platte Valley High School in Kersey.
Brush 59, Frontier Academy 53, in Brush: Frontier Academy, seeded seventh in the eight-team 3A Patriot League district tournament, fell just short in this consolation game against sixth-seed Brush (5-16). The Beetdiggers jumped out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter, and the Wolverines could never completely recover. Frontier Academy ends its tournament campaign with a 6-15 overall record.
— Highland and Union Colony district tournament results were not available by press time. Go to greeleytribune.com Wednesday or read Friday’s print edition for results and statistics for those two teams.
Girls basketball
5A state tournament
Roosevelt 61, Falcon 31, in Johnstown: Roosevelt picked up right where it left off in this past year’s postseason, winning its first state title in program history a year ago. The Rough Riders, seeded second in the 32-team 5A state tournament, led 22-6 after one quarter and 30-14 after two against No. 31 Falcon (15-9). Roosevelt improved to 22-2 and will face No. 18 Northridge at home in the second round at a to-be-announced time Friday.
Northridge 60, Palisade 51, in Palisade: Northridge, seeded 18th in the 32-team 5A state playoffs, picked up this clutch win on the road against No. 15 Palisade (17-7). The Grizzlies jumped out to a 22-12 lead in the first quarter of the back-and-forth win. After the Bulldogs trimmed the gap to 32-28 by halftime, Northridge held a narrow edge, outscoring Palisade 28-23 in the second half. With this victory, the Grizzlies improved to (15-9), setting up a marquee second-round game Friday against defending state champion Roosevelt (22-2) at a to-be-determined time Friday. The two teams belong to the same conference, and the Rough Riders have a pair of lopsided wins this season against Northridge.
4A state tournament
Resurrection Christian 71, The Academy 11, in Loveland: Resurrection Christian, the fourth seed in the 32-team 4A state tournament, completely demolished No. 29 The Academy (6-18). The Cougars led 19-0 after one quarter and 39-4 after two. Resurrection Christian won its 15th consecutive game and improved to 21-3 overall. It will play host to No. 13 Jefferson Academy or No. 20 Berthoud in the second round Friday.
University 59, Elizabeth 22, in Greeley: University had no problem with its opponent, No. 26 Elizabeth (12-12), in the first round of the 4A state tournament. After leading just 19-14 through one quarter, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 34-14 after two and 54-20 after three. Junior Addison Harding led a balanced University squad with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with five rebounds. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs improved to 20-4 and will play host to No. 10 Delta (19-4) at a to-be-announced time in the second round Friday.
Eaton 70, Coal Ridge 36, in Eaton: Eaton, seeded 12th in the 32-team 4A state tournament, dominated No. 21 Coal Ridge (10-14) to set up a second-round date with No. 5 Pagosa Springs (20-4) on the road at a to-be-announced time Friday. Freshman Courtney Steinkamp led five Reds players who each had nine or more points. Steinkamp recorded 19 points. Eaton improved to 16-8 overall.
Severance 40, Alamosa 29, in Alamosa: Severance’s long trip south certainly didn’t go unrewarded, as the Silver Knights — seeded 18th in the 32-team 4A state tournament — earned a decisive first-round victory over No. 15 Alamosa (12-11). Severance improved to 10-14 heading into a second-round game Friday against No. 2 D’Evelyn (21-3) at a to-be-announced time Friday in Denver.
Colorado Academy 50, Valley 31, in Denver: Valley, seeded 27th in the 32-team 4A playoffs, couldn’t quite produce the offensive punch needed to keep its season alive against No. 6 Colorado Academy (19-5). The Vikings ended their season with an 8-16 record.
Riverdale Ridge 62, Weld Central 11, in Thornton: Weld Central, the 30th seed of the 32-team 4A state tournament, struggled in all facets against No. 3 Riverdale Ridge (21-3). The Ravens led 23-3 after one quarter and 41-6 after two. The Rebels scored five or fewer points in each quarter. Weld Central wrapped up its season at 7-17.
3A/2A/1A districts
Highland 65, Platte Valley 39, in Ault: Highland, the top seed in the eight-team 3A Patriot League district tournament, dominated No. 4 Platte Valley in this championship semifinals game. The Huskies quickly took full control, leading 18-12 after one quarter and 31-21 after two. They outscored the Broncos in every quarter. Highland won its fourth consecutive game and improved to 15-6 overall. It will face No. 2 Strasburg (15-5) in the district finals at noon Saturday at Eaton High School. Platte Valley fell to 6-15. It will face No. 3 Timnath (15-6) in the third-place game at 9 a.m. Saturday at Eaton HS.
Union Colony 54, Twin Peaks Charter 51, in Longmont: Union Colony, seeded fifth in the six-team district, opened its campaign in the 3A/2A/1A Mile High League district tournament with a tightly contested victory to advance to a second-round game against top-seeded rival Dayspring Christian (15-4) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Platte Valley High school. Trailing early, 15-13 through one quarter, the Timberwolves turned around the game with a 14-6 second-quarter run to take a 27-21 halftime lead. Union Colony narrowly held on in the second half, despite an 18-13 fourth-quarter run by No. 4 Twin Peaks. The Timberwolves improved to 6-12 overall heading into their second-round game against Dayspring.
Brush 65, Frontier Academy 39, in Brush: Eighth-seeded Frontier Academy struggled mightily in this consolation semifinals game of the eight-team 3A Patriot League district tournament. The Wolverines lost their 12th consecutive game and fell to 5-16 overall.
— Windsor’s first-round state tournament result was not available by press time. Go to greeleytribune.com Wednesday or read Friday’s print edition for the Wizards’ result and statistics.
— Bobby Fernandez covers high school sports for the Greeley Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-4478, by email at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com or on X @BobbyDFernandez.
