Preps: Aspen boys basketball falls in 2OT, Rams come up short in districts
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The season came to a heartbreaking end for the Aspen High School boys basketball team on Saturday with a 67-65 double overtime loss at DSST: Montview in the second round of the Class 4A state tournament in Denver.
The Skiers trailed slightly at both halftime and at the end of the third quarter, but rallied late to send the game to the first overtime tied at 51 each. It remained tied, this time at 57 each, after the four-minute OT session.
Aspen held a 58-57 lead early in the second OT, but a quick spurt by the home team made it 63-58 in favor of the Knights with about two minutes to play. AHS got back within 63-62 with about 50 seconds to go, two Montview free throws pushing it back out to a three-point lead with 25 seconds remaining.
The last AHS possession ended without a shot attempt and a turnover back to Montview with only 6.4 seconds to play. A pair of Montview free throws made it a five-point advantage and essentially put the game away. The Skiers did hit one final 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Seeded No. 7, Montview (23-2 overall) advances to next weekend’s quarterfinal at the Denver Coliseum against No. 2 Resurrection Christian, a 75-45 winner over No. 15 Fort Lupton on Saturday. Resurrection Christian beat No. 31 Basalt in the first round, 37-29.
Aspen, the No. 10 seed, finishes the season 19-6 overall.
The No. 2 seed Roaring Fork boys lost to No. 1 Meeker in the 3A Western Slope League district tournament, 56-49. In the girls district final, it was No. 1 Grand Valley beating No. 2 Roaring Fork, 30-28. Next up for the teams will be the state tournament.
Skiing
The CHSAA state skiing championships concluded Friday with the Nordic events at Snow Mountain Ranch near Granby. As they were in last week’s Alpine championships, Summit dominated the show, ultimately winning six of the eight total individual races and both the boys and girls team championships (a combination of Alpine and Nordic results).
The Summit girls finished with 647 points to hold off runner-up Battle Mountain (624). The Aspen girls finished fifth overall with 486 points.
The Summit boys took the title with 682 points, followed in second by Middle Park (626). The Aspen boys finished eighth with 383 points.
The AHS Alpine boys did come away with an unofficial championship, scoring the most team points in the giant slalom races last weekend (172 to Summit’s 170).
Hockey
In hockey action Saturday, No. 8 seed Battle Mountain beat No. 9 Palmer to advance in the Class 4A state tournament.
This means it will be No. 1 seed Glenwood Springs against Battle Mountain in the state quarterfinals this coming Wednesday. That game will be played at 6:30 p.m. inside Aspen’s Lewis Ice Arena. The Demons had a first-round bye.
PHOTOS: Palm Tree Music Festival returns to Rio Grande Park for second year
Produced by Belly Up Aspen, the Palm Tree Music Festival returned for its second year at Rio Grande Park with performances on both Friday and Saturday.
