Evergreen boys basketball powers past Mountain View in 1st round of 5A state tourney

EVERGREEN — The postseason lights were bright Tuesday night at Evergreen High School.

The Cougars (16-8 record) advanced to the second round of the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament with a 64-46 home victory over No. 40-seeded Mountain View. The win ended a 5-year drought without a playoff win for Evergreen.

The Mountain Lions (11-13) came in with a 3-game winning streak, but No. 25 Evergreen was able to turnout the lights on Mountain View’s season with a strong 25-point fourth quarter.

“Kudos to (Mountain View) for the way they got in and they way they played down the stretch,” Evergreen coach Clinton Evans said of the Mountain Lions having to win their final three games to grab one of the last playoff slots. “We were worried because they have some guys who can shoot the ball and are pretty strong offensively.”

Mountain View senior Cole Tonniges came in averaging 20 points per game. Evergreen’s defense held him to 9 points. It was only the second time this season that Tonnages didn’t score in double-figure points.

However, Mountain View senior Coleton Gullickson buried a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to cut Evergreen’s lead to 39-33. Gullickson had a team-high 12 points for the Mountain Lions.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game. Every game, every playoff game is a tough game,” Evergreen senior Xavier Spungin said. “I was proud of how we played.”

Spungin took over with the game in doubt in the fourth quarter as the Cougars opened up a 20-point lead in the final quarter.

“Coach (Evans) just said go get em. What was the worst that could happen?” Spungin said of scoring 10 straight points for the Cougars in the fourth quarter that extended Evergreen’s lead to 49-33 midway through the final quarter. “My teammates helped me and we capitalize on our opportunities.”

Spungin finished with a game-high 26 points in the Cougars’ first playoff win since the 2019-2020 season.

“He is a soccer player,” Evans said of Spungin. “We kind of noticed (Mountain View) looked a little bit tired. Xavier generally is going to be able to keep going in the fourth quarter. He really took advantage in transition and looked like he had a lot of juice left. He kind of pushed us across the finish line.”

Juniors Logan McCanna (13 points) and Ezra Beeson (10 points) both reached double-digit points for the Cougars in the final home game of the season for Evergreen.

“It’s huge just being able to play playoff basketball,” Evans said of the Cougars moving on. “We got one last home game for the parents, families and kids. Then getting to go to Lewis-Palmer and playing in a big-time game on the road. That is going to help us a ton in the future.”

The Cougars have just one senior in Roby Mitchem this season.

Evergreen will travel to Colorado Springs to face No. 8 Lewis-Palmer (15-8) on Friday, Feb. 27.

“This is new for everyone playing an entire playoff game,” Spungin said of the postseason experience. “I’m glad everyone stepped up tonight.”