DENVER – In a regular season showdown on Jan. 14, Fort Lupton left Prospect Ridge Academy with a one-point win. The Miners had zero desire to see that result again, especially as the teams met at Denver Coliseum.

And apparently all it took was some better defense.

PRA ran out to a big lead and cruised to an 87-64 win over the Bluedevils to advance to Friday’s Class 4A boys basketball Final 4. It was the fourth playoff win in PRA history and this will also be the first Final 4 for the Miners. That’s quite a legacy for a relatively young team.

“I’m only a sophomore, but we’re doing this for our seniors,” Jackson Brandt said. “But there is more to build for next year.”

Brandt scored a game-high 26 points while freshman Josiah Bote had 22. But this is far from a two-man operation.

“Anyone on our team can score,” Brandt said.

And they can play defense, which he said was much improved from the loss to the Bluedevils in January. Both teams played a fast style of basketball, pressing on a made shot and trying to run the floor on offense.

The Miners jumped out a 23-9 lead after the first quarter and never really looked back.

“Back when we played them, our defense isn’t as good as it is now,” Brandt said. “We’ve been really focusing on our defense in practice and we weren’t [83] points like they did the last time.”

The big key was slowing down Fort Lupton guard Isaiah Garcia. He went off for 35 in the first meeting, but the Miners held him to just 17 on Wednesday. Guillaume Nkiadiambu led the Bluedevils with 22.

But they couldn’t keep up with PRA’s scoring efficiency. The Miners got down the court fast, always made the extra pass and then knocked down their shots.

“We like to beat teams through air,” Brandt said. “There’s not much dribbling and we can all score.”

When a team can improve defensively and score at any position on the floor, it’s a combination that will find success at Denver Coliseum.

(1) Kent Denver 79, (15) The Academy 69

(Jen Jardeleza)

The final game of the 4A basketball Great 8 was relatively low scoring considering both teams’ style to get out and run. But in the end, it was Kent Denver returning to the Final for a second straight season.

They’ll have another track on their hands when they take on Prospect Ridge Academy in the semifinals on Friday.

Elvis Lloyd led the Sun Devils with 27 which included three big 3-pointers in the third quarter that helped Kent open up a 60-49 lead.

But the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game and pulled to within five points on a Trey Boychuk 3-pointer, his first of the game.

Boychuk hit a 2-pointer to again close the gap to 68-63 before a Sam Glynn 3-pointer ignited a 9-0 run that put the game out of reach.

Caleb Fay added 16 points for Kent Denver. CJ Hernandez led the Wildcats with 22.