{"id":2455215,"date":"2020-03-01T20:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T03:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-of-state-tournament\/"},"modified":"2020-03-01T20:16:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T03:16:00","slug":"aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-at-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-at-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen boys basketball draws No. 27 seed, will face DSST: Byers in first round at state"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7327459618209\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-321868-219\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"McKenzie Lange\/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel | Aspen High School boys basketball coach Alex Schrempf talks to the players during a timeout Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in the Class 3A district title game against Gunnison at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School boys basketball coach Alex Schrempf talks to the players during a timeout Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in the Class 3A district title game against Gunnison at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)<\/strong><br \/>McKenzie Lange\/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School boys basketball coach Alex Schrempf talks to the players during a timeout Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in the Class 3A district title game against Gunnison at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-1-1024x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"McKenzie Lange\/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel | Aspen\u2019s Taylor Akin calls a play during the Class 3A district title game against the Gunnison Cowboys on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Aspen\u2019s Taylor Akin calls a play during the Class 3A district title game against the Gunnison Cowboys on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)<\/strong><br \/>McKenzie Lange\/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-1-1024x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen\u2019s Taylor Akin calls a play during the Class 3A district title game against the Gunnison Cowboys on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy | Aspen High School boys basketball drew the No. 27 seed in the Class 3A state tournament.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School boys basketball drew the No. 27 seed in the Class 3A state tournament.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AHSbasketball-atd-030220-1-2.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School boys basketball drew the No. 27 seed in the Class 3A state tournament.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-of-state-tournament\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-of-state-tournament\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">For the first time since 2014, the Aspen High School boys basketball team will compete in the state tournament. The Skiers will be the No. 27 seed in Class 3A and will face No. 6 DSST: Byers on Friday in the first round, <a href=\"https:\/\/chsaanow.com\/2020-03-01\/3a-boys-basketball-state-tournament-bracket-2020\/\">it was announced Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Byers will host the regional rounds Friday and Saturday, although as of Sunday night the exact location of the games wasn\u2019t known as the school doesn\u2019t have the facilities to host. The games will be in Denver, however, with game times still to be determined.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">No. 11 Alamosa (16-5) and No. 22 Lamar (13-9) make up the other half of Aspen\u2019s regional pod. The Aspen-Byers winner will play the Alamosa-Lamar winner in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Denver.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s not just happy to be here,\u201d fourth-year AHS coach Alex Schrempf said Sunday about getting back to state. \u201cThis is something we want to get used to. This is something that is not our last time; this is not a fluke. This is something we are going to keep doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Byers, one of the Denver School of Science and Technology schools, competes out of the Confluence League. The Falcons went 20-2 overall and finished 8-0 in league play. They have a couple of mutual opponents with the Skiers (14-9), having beaten Coal Ridge in their season opener, 62-55 in overtime, and having beaten Roaring Fork in their second game, 58-16.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As the No. 7 seed in the district tournament, Aspen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-boys-basketball-upsets-coal-ridge-in-district-quarterfinals\/\">knocked off No. 2 seed Coal Ridge<\/a> last week in the quarterfinals, 61-59 in overtime. AHS then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-boys-basketball-fends-off-roaring-fork-in-district-semifinal-punches-ticket-to-state-tournament\/\">beat Roaring Fork in the semifinals<\/a>, 35-32, to punch its ticket to the state tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/gunnison-runs-away-from-aspen-boys-basketball-in-district-championship-game\/\">lost to top-seeded Gunnison<\/a> in the district final on Saturday, 79-49, after only trailing by six points at halftime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe were getting in our heads a little bit,\u201d Schrempf said of that game. \u201cThey went on a run. Went on another and we couldn\u2019t really put the buckets together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Still, the top two teams from the district earned automatic spots in the regional round of state, so the loss to Gunnison only impacted seeding for the Skiers, who were a longshot to host a regional. Gunnison earned the No. 7 seed and will host No. 26 Colorado Academy in the opening round. No. 10 Sterling or No. 23 Kent Denver awaits the winner of that game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Coal Ridge made the tournament as the No. 16 seed and will play No. 17 DSST: Green Valley Ranch on Friday. The winner likely will face No. 1 Resurrection Christian in the second round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen\u2019s task against Byers will be to slow down senior guard Kyrie Thomas, who averages about 24 points per game. Senior Elijah Thatch is a legitimate big man for the Falcons, averaging about 17 points and nine rebounds per game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cA very good shooter \u2014 he gets to the rim,\u201d Schrempf said of Thomas. \u201cJust an all-around offensive threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the mutual games came early in the season for Byers, Schrempf looks at those, especially the Coal Ridge game, as a starting point in believing AHS can keep up with the Falcons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something we can look at as we can play to their level,\u201d Schrempf said. \u201cIf we do that and they bring out the best in us we can hopefully play at a pace of basketball we like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The last time Aspen played in the state tournament was the 2013-14 season, the final under longtime coach Steve Ketchum. AHS was the No. 10 seed that year in the 32-team tournament, and beat No. 23 Florence in the first round, 58-55. The Skiers then lost to No. 7 Brush in the second round, 60-43.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt takes time. But I can\u2019t take credit for that. We stuck with it,\u201d Schrempf said of finally getting back to state. \u201cThey started picking up what we were putting down and to see that reinforced, to see them get there just based off doing the things we keep asking, that\u2019s reinvigorating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the <a href=\"https:\/\/chsaanow.com\/2020-03-01\/3a-girls-basketball-state-tournament-bracket-2020\/\">3A girls bracket<\/a>, Roaring Fork earned the No. 20 seed and will play No. 13 Platte Valley in the first round. That winner will play No. 4 Delta or No. 29 Buena Vista in the next round. Also earning a spot at state out of the girls 3A Western Slope League are No. 14 seed Cedaredge, No. 15 Grand Valley, No. 17 Moffat County and No. 26 Coal Ridge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-boys-basketball-draws-no-27-seed-will-face-dsst-byers-in-first-round-of-state-tournament\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High School boys basketball coach Alex Schrempf talks to the players during a timeout Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in the Class 3A district title game against Gunnison at Grand Junction Central High School. (Photo by McKenzie Lange\/The Daily Sentinel)McKenzie Lange\/Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Aspen\u2019s Taylor Akin calls a play during the Class 3A district [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 12:54:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}