Longtime Silver Creek basketball coach Bob Banning is retiring at the end of the season.
In his 48 years of coaching, Banning won a state championship with Niwot in 1993. He’s led the Raptors to the state postseason 22 times in 23 tries.
Can he add to his legacy?
His Class 5A No. 13 Raptors now need three wins at the Denver Coliseum to send Banning out a champion. In Tuesday’s Sweet 16, they beat No. 4 Eagle Valley 73-54.
Connor Bonsett led the way with 20 points, while Luke Schmeeckle had 18 and Grayson Schwirtz 14.
Silver Creek shot 60% from the field and from 3-point range. It made 15 of its 19 free-throw attempts.
The Raptors face No. 12 Mesa Ridge on Saturday.
Friday’s 6A Great 8 games
No. 5 Rock Canyon vs. No. 13 Grandview, 10:15 a.m.; No. 3 Rangeview vs. No. 6 Cherry Creek, 1:15 p.m.; No. 1 Chaparral vs. No. 8 Mountain Vista, 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Ralston Valley vs. No. 7 George Washington, 8:30 p.m.
Mountain Vista will have another chance to take down top-ranked Chaparral after falling just short in its 57-56 loss in the regular-season finale.
Oliver Junker scored 20 points in the Golden Eagles’ 78-57 win over No. 24 Northfield in Tuesday’s Sweet 16. Luke Howery had 26 points and Christian Williams 20 for the No. 1 Cougars in their 70-43 win over No. 16 Brighton.
Seven of the eight Sweet 16 games were decided by double digits. Caden Braketa scored 23 points in No. 2 Ralston Valley’s 60-43 win over No. 18 Regis Jesuit. Marceles Duncan had 24 points and Archie Weatherspoon 23 in No. 3 Rangeview’s 84-63 win over No. 14 ThunderRidge.
The only nail-biter in the round was No. 13 Grandview’s 62-58 upset win over No. 4 Arvada West. Noah Sevy scored seven points in the final minutes to lift the Wolves to the win.
Friday’s 5A Great 8 games
No. 1 Palisade vs. No. 8 Lewis-Palmer; No. 2 Grand Junction vs. No. 10 Lutheran; No. 3 Severance vs. No. 11 Windsor; No. 12 Mesa Ridge vs. No. 13 Silver Creek.
Lutheran rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat No. 7 Rampart 60-58 in Tuesday’s Sweet 16. The Rams led 55-50 in the waning minutes before the Lions went on a 10-0 run to take control for good.
While 6A’s round of 16 was mostly blowouts, 5A’s was much closer. Mesa Ridge got 18 points from J’Marius Jones in its 48-45 win over No. 28 Palmer Ridge. Madden Smiley scored 24 in No. 11 Windsor’s 55-53 win over No. 3 Regis Groff.
No. 1 Palisade, No. 2 Grand Junction and No. 3 Severance each won by double digits. Hunter Howard had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the top-ranked Bulldogs’ 58-48 win over No. 16 Frederick. Grant Lewis scored 18 in Grand Junction’s 54-41 win over No. 18 Golden. And Christian Powell had 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting in Palisade’s 62-49 win over No. 14 Green Mountain.
Class 4A regional hosts
| SEED | TEAM |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kent Denver |
| 2 | Montezuma-Cortez |
| 3 | Holy Family |
| 4 | Lamar |
| 5 | Timnath |
| 6 | Aspen |
| 7 | Eaton |
| 8 | Prospect Ridge Academy |
