DENVER – Blake Gorr calmly stepped to the free throw line and thought about what he has to do to check out of practice every day.
The Silver Creek senior drilled four free throws in the final 28 seconds to secure a 60-55 win over Mesa Ridge in the opening game of the Class 5A boys basketball Great 8 on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.
“All the work we put in, we got up at 5 am to shoot today,” Gorr said. “Our coach forces us to shoot 50 free throws per day. It all paid off today.”
Connor Bonsett led No. 13 Silver Creek (22-4) with 15 points while Luke Schmeeckle and Gorr each tallied 14 points. Cooper Herchert added 9 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors who will advance to play the winner of No. 1 Palisade vs. No. 8 Lewis-Palmer in Thursday’s Final 4.
“Blake didn’t have a good first half and he’s a big part of our team,” said Silver Creek coach Bob Banning who has been on a sideline since 1979 but is hanging up his whistle when the Raptors’ run concludes. “He’s going to do all the little things that matter though. He’s our leading free throw shooter for the season. He was worried about his mistakes and I told him, ‘just go out there and Be Blake.’
“He had ice water in his veins down the stretch.”
J’Marius Jones scored a game-high 19 points for No. 12 Mesa Ridge (19-7). Eligah Miles chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
With a mix of zone defense to open the game, the Raptors kept the pace for both teams very deliberate. They started in a 2-3 and later expanded to a 1-2-2 that offered half-court pressure. While it slowed down the pace of the game, the Grizzlies patiently swung the ball around the perimeter until they got an open look.
At the end of the first quarter the game was tied 14-14.
A 4-0 run by Miles featured a tough bucket on the inside and a steal at half court followed by a coast-to-coast layup as Mesa Ridge went up 20-18 at the 4:23 mark. As the Raptors switched to a match-up zone, Schmeeckle’s steal at half court led to a layup, to cut the Grizzlies lead to 27-22 at halftime.
The Raptors ensured Banning would have at least one more game to scheme for when they turned up the defensive intensity in the second half.
Gorr ripped off six straight points as part of the Raptors’ 8-0 surge coming out of the locker room. The senior guard feathered in a three from the wing and then caught the Grizzlies by surprise as the point man on a 1-2-2 full-court press.
His steal and corresponding three-point play was followed up by Bonsett’s fall-away jumper at the baseline to give Silver Creek a 30-27 lead.
“Our coaches yelled at us at halftime,” Gorr said. “Which was perfect. We needed the energy. We were a little lackadaisical in the first half. Today we needed defense and rebounding. I knew the shots would come when we got run outs on steals.”
But the press opened up the floor and the game’s pace increased. Moments later, Jones slashed his way to the rim and twisted his way into a reverse layup to tie the score at 32 all. Silver Creek held a 40-38 lead at the end of three quarters as the Grizzlies missed five straight free throws in the closing 30 seconds of the third.
“Coach Baning is an aggressive guy,” Schmeeckle said. “He wants us to be as aggressive as possible. It’s been this way all year. We’ve had close game after close game. Good opponent after good opponent. We turn up as the game goes on and play harder each quarter.”
In the fourth quarter, it was the Grizzlies turn to mix up their defense. They face-guarded Schmeeckle wherever he went and played mostly man, but left a big man in the lane.
It didn’t phase the Raptors who got a finger-roll layup from Luke Ayer for a 50-46 lead.
After Schmeeckle drew a charge on a Jones drive, Ayer did it again, this time breaking down the Mesa Ridge defense and dropping a dime to Cooper Herchert for a layup and a 52-46 lead with 2:36 remaining.
Mesa Ridge blitzed Silver Creek with a diamond and 1 press, Isaiah Luca’s steal and layup cut the Silver Creek lead to 54-52.
The Raptors looked to be in a stall but Bonsett snuck behind the Mesa Ridge defense for a layup and Silver Creek led 56-52. On the next possession, Lucas stepped out of bounds with 27.5 to play.
“We just needed to get composed,” Gorr said. “We got a little ahead of ourselves thinking the game was won. We needed to continue to play to win and not just hold onto the ball. We needed to look to move the ball down the floor.”
Gorr hit a pair of foul shots 57-52. Brian Lamar canned a corner trey and the Grizzlies were within 58-55 with 13.5 to play. But Gorr again sank two foul shots to seal the win.
