LOVELAND – This one just meant a little more all the way around.
Denver Jewish Day’s first state championship closed out the boys basketball season Saturday night at Budweiser Events Center. The Tigers defeated 5280 League rival and tournament favorite Belleview Christian 55-42 to win the Class 1A title, capping a dream season. It’s also the first team championship in school history.
This was a moment a long time in the making, according to Denver Jewish Day coach Michael Foonberg.
“I’ve been coaching these guys since kindergarten,” Foonberg said. “I knew this day would happen. I knew it. I really did.”
Ilan Schinagel’s 25 points were a game-high but also a season-high for the senior, who had set his previous best Friday night at 24 points against McClave in the Final 4.
Gavin Foonberg added 14 points, but was playing with what he believes may be a torn hamstring that limited him on the court. Foonberg pulled his hamstring against Eads and it steadily got worse.
“I kind of just trusted my teammates a lot tonight,” Foonberg said. “I became a spot-up shooter.”
Schinagel had 11 points at halftime and then poured in 14 more in the second half. After Belleveiw Christian (24-2) pulled to within four points at 31-27 late in the third quarter, the Tigers (22-3) reeled off a 13-0 run to essentially put the game out of reach.
Schinagel had the final five points of that stretch.
“We’ve been playing with each other since kindergarten,” Gavin Foonberg said. “I pretty much told him I need to trust you and Keenan (Winnerman) tonight. He definitely delivered.”
Denver Jewish Day lost to Belleview Christian 58-50 in the regular season, but handed the Bruins their first loss 11 days later in the district championship.
That helped give the team a boost knowing the two squads could meet again in the state tournament.
“It showed that we can beat them,” Gavin Foonberg said. “It just gave us a lot of confidence moving forward. We knew we had a great gameplan against them and we knew how to beat them.”
Nathaniel Owen led Belleview Christian with 14 points. The Bruins will only graduate three seniors, but Owen, their leading scorer, is one of them.
