EDWARDS \u2014 There\u2019s no sugar-coating it: Fowler was just a better basketball team.<\/p>\n
The visiting Grizzlies used a 20-4 second quarter to beat Vail Christian, 59-41, on Saturday in the Class 2A Region 8 Tournament finals in Edwards. Fowler advanced to the State Eight in Loveland next weekend, while finishing the Saints\u2019 season.<\/p>\n
What does a coach say after the curtain comes down so suddenly?<\/p>\n
\u201cI love them. I\u2019m proud of them,\u201d Vail Christian coach Sheldon Kuhns said. \u201cThey fought for 23-whatever games it was and they fought for 32 minutes today. I\u2019m just proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vail Christian (17-7) got off to a good start with two Jamison Lee layups, and an Alec Moritz 3 and layups by Zack McKeever\u00a0and Moritz for an 11-8 first-quarter lead. What was troubling, though, is that Fowler was winning the battle in the paint, particularly on the offensive end. The Grizzlies just weren\u2019t converting on their multiple opportunities.<\/p>\n
They did during the second quarter. Ten of Fowler\u2019s 20 second-quarter points came from layups or put-backs. Grizzlies senior Drew Egan and sophomore Val Leone both hit from beyond the arc, while teammate Quinton Flanscha had a steal and a layin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re good. They\u2019re big. They\u2019re long. They shoot. There are no weaknesses there.,\u201d Kuhns said. \u201cThey hurt us on the glass. We knew it was going to be a problem. Our guys battled. Ultimately, we didn\u2019t play as well as we wanted offensively or rebounding, but we just struggled to put the ball in the basket. I give them a lot\u00a0of credit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fowler senior Zane Denton appeared to have the assignment of covering Moritz. While Moritz did occasionally\u00a0get lost in coverage and pop open for a 3, Denton held the junior to 13 points. Jamison Lee had 11 points for the Saints, while Leone led all scorers with 22.<\/p>\n
Though there were tears in the Saints\u2019 locker room, it\u2019s important to remember that any basketball season that ends in March is a good one. Vail Christian returned just one starter, McKeever, from last year\u2019s team, which also lost in the regional final.<\/p>\n
In what could have been a rebuilding year, the Saints reloaded, finished second in the 2A Slope behind DeBeque and won a 2A District title for the first time in school history. Along the way, the Saints toppled Meeker twice \u2014 once on the road<\/a> and then in the district semifinals<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a whole lot of fun playing with these boys,\u201d McKeever said. \u201cWe did what no other team thought we could do. We went into the Meeker game (the first one) and said it was a proving game because no one thought we\u00a0would be as good as we thought we could be. Just to play at home at regionals, win our district, it was a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n By winning the District 5 Tournament last weekend, as McKeever mentioned, the Saints hosted regionals for the first time in school history. And the chemistry that Vail Christian showed on the court was honestly earned through a lot of hard work and some long bus rides.<\/p>\n \u201cSongs on the bus,\u201d McKeever said. \u201c(Team manager) Roy (Valenzuela) would always bring his radio and we\u2019d sing, \u2018Dancing Queen\u2019 and a bunch of other stupid songs on the bus. Kiernan (Davis) was in charge of the joke of the day during districts and he\u00a0did a stupid knock-knock joke and we all started laughing because it was so dumb.\u201d<\/p>\n Holly, Fowler, Denver Christian, Limon, Yuma, Byers, Mancos and Highland are this year\u2019s 2A State Eight.<\/p>\n