6A boys basketball Final 4: Rock Canyon and Ralston Valley to meet for title

DENVER – When Jacob David’s 3-pointer hit just before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, it sounded like half of Highlands Ranch won the lottery.

Even as dangerous as Chapparal is, that shot gave the Jaguars an 11-point lead and a feeling that the program’s first appearance in a boys basketball state championship game was theirs to lose.

They never relinquished the grip and beat No. 1 Chaparral 75-60.

They’re going to the ship.

“Usually it’s that third quarter when Chap gets going,” guard Cooper Ellwood said. “We had to keep stepping on their throat and attacking them.’

The Jags held a five-point lead at halftime and knew there was plenty of offense coming at them from both Christian Williams and Luke Howery. The Wolverines duo combined to score 43, but it was getting just 17 from the rest of the lineup that was key for Rock Canyon defensively.

“We tried to limit Champ [Spears] because Champ has killed us in the past,” coach Kent Grimes said. “We just stayed true to our game plan. We knew we needed to attack the rim and we made shots when we needed to.”

By the metric they needed to make shots all night.

The Jags shot 62% from the floor and 52% from 3-point range. Seizing momentum in the third quarter was crucial as it forced the Wolverines out of their comfort zone defensively.

“If we could get them to full court press us, we could cut them up,” Grimes said.

They did just that.

Davis May led the Jags with 19 points, Kai Valentine had 15 and Ellwood and David each had 12. Jonah Medina came off the bench to score nine, giving Rock Canyon a total team effort on both ends of the floor.

Rock Canyon’s semifinal appearance against Chap was the first time the team had gotten to the Final 4 since 2018 when it got there as the No. 1 overall seed. The Jags fell to George Washington, who went on to lose to Grandview.

The way the Jags controlled the game in the second half, and the energy they injected to Denver Coliseum suggests they won’t take Saturday’s state title game lightly.

They’re going to put on a heck of a show.

Ralston Valley 61, Rangeview 49

The inside punch of Zeke Andrews and outside daggers by Caiden Braketa lifted Ralston Valley’s boys basketball team to its first boys basketball title game since 2007.

The No. 2-seeded Mustangs grabbed a 61-49 victory over No. 3 Rangeview in the nightcap at the Denver Coliseum on Friday night to advance to the Class 6A state championship game.

“Rock Canyon is obviously on a roll,” Ralston Valley coach Chris Braketa said. “It’s going to be a good match-up tomorrow for sure.”

Ralston Valley (26-1 record) will face No. 5 Rock Canyon in the 6A title game scheduled for 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, March 14). The Jaguars upended top-seeded Chaparral 75-60 in the first semifinal Friday night.

Andrews — quarterback for Ralston Valley’s 5A state runner-up squad last Fall — dominated inside to the tune of 19 points, including an alley-op dunk to start the second half.

“It will be exciting,” Andrews said of being in another state championship game. “We are going to go make a different outcome than last time.”

Braketa went Steph Curry-mode in the second half, making three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone. Braketa finished with a game-high 26 points.

“I got a couple to go early. I got a couple of other good looks and was feeling it,” Braketa said of his 6-for-13 from long range. “We were going on a run and I let them go. They felt good.”

After a low-scoring first half that had Ralston Valley leading 18-14, both teams got it going offensively.

“Zeke got going down low and we were able to hit some big shots from the outside,” Braketa said. “We were able to get some big defensive stops as well.”

Ralston Valley last advanced to the Final 4 in boys basketball almost two decades ago. The Mustangs lost to Lincoln in the 4A state title game in 2007. Ralston Valley’s lone basketball state championship came in 2003 when the Mustangs defeated Windsor for the 4A title.

Nick Fazekas — three-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year at the University of Nevada had an 18-year pro basketball career mainly in Japan — led the 2003 championship team. Fazekas retired from his pro basketball career in 2024.

“This group is so special. They have had this on their minds since the eighth grade,” Coach Braketa said. “Last year we hit a little bump in the road, but having that experience and being here helped.”

Ralston Valley lost to Valor Christian in the Great 8 a season ago.

The Raiders (23-4) hadn’t loss to a Colorado team all season. Rangeview’s three regular-season losses were to Redondo Union (CA), Riviera Prep (FL) and Atascocita (TX) in the highest division of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.