Golden basketball players celebrate after the Demons rallied in the final minute to defeated Thomas Jefferson 69-65 in the Class 4A boys basketball state Sweet 16 game Saturday night at Golden High School. Golden trailed by five points with less than a minute to play, but went on a 9-0 run to get the victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — Golden needed a furious last-minute rally to avoid being the third No. 1 seed to bow out of the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament Saturday in the round of 16.
The Demons, top seed in the Richard Tate Region, trailed No. 4 Thomas Jefferson 65-60 with less than a minute to play. On its home court, Golden rallied with a 9-0 run to close the game to take a 69-65 victory and advance to Great 8.
“Everyone made a shot when they had to. Everyone did their job,” Golden junior Nick Capaul said. “What really helped us was no one was getting down when we were down by five points. Nobody thought it was over.”
Golden sophomore Kayden Sund (45) takes a jump over a trio of Thomas Jefferson defenders Saturday night. Sund’s eight-point outburst in the fourth quarter helped the Demons rally for a 69-65 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Senior Jason Johnson started the rally for the Demons (22-3 overall) with a driving layup. Senior Ryan Thistlewood tied the game with 43 seconds left with a long 3-pointer coming out of a timeout.
“I felt confident in it. I let it go and it went in. It felt good,” said Thistlewood, who led the Demons with 18 points.
Golden coach John Anderson called a timeout when the Demons got the ball back after Johnson’s layup to draw up an inbound play to get the ball to Thistlewood for a 3-pointer.
“Situations like this you get the ball into your best player’s hands to get a shot,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t the greatest shot. He (Thistlewood) was off balance a little bit. It was a deep NBA 3-pointer. He knocked down the shot.”
TJ missed a runner in the lane with the game tied, 65-65. Anderson called a timeout with 19.8 seconds left to set up what would be the eventual game-winning bucket.
Despite not scoring for the entire game, Capaul was confident he could deliver in the final few seconds.
“(Capaul) says, ‘Coach if you give me the ball I’ll make the shot,’” Anderson said of the conversation during the timeout. “That wasn’t the plan, but he (Capaul) tips it in. That’s what you want. It eased me a little bit because I knew guys wanted the ball in their hands.”
Thistlewood found himself one-on-one and drove down the lane. His floater didn’t drop, but Capaul came from the baseline to tip the ball in with 4 seconds left to give Golden a 67-65 lead.
“I said a pray to God that I get a chance to get a shot up,” Capaul said. “I got the tip. I was at the right place at the right time.”
Thistlewood stole the ball as TJ attempted to get down the court in the final seconds. He was fouled and made both free throws with a second remaining to seal the victory and close the book on the dramatic ending.
“Unbelievable game,” Anderson said. “Grant (TJ coach Grant Laman) and I said before the game this isn’t a Sweet 16 game this is like a Final 4 game. It was a tough match up.”
TJ (13-12) held a double-digit lead in the first quarter on the Demons’ home court. Seniors Josh McNair (18 points) and Jalen Rose (17 points) dominated down low while senior Sergio Garcia, juniors Evan Gould, Henry Cooper and sophomore Ravel Moody combined for seven 3-pointers on the night.
Thomas Jefferson senior Josh McNair (10) goes up for a shot over Golden junior Ryan Blodgett, left, and senior Cole Greff, right, during the second half Saturday. McNair had a team-high 18 points for the Spartans, but TJ fell just short on its upset bid against the No. 1 seed Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)
“That was the best inside team we’ve played all year long, hands down,” Capaul said. “(McNair) is probably the best player I’ve played against all year. Their 3-point shooting was unbelievable too. They came ready.”
Golden’s five starters all finished in double-figures. Junior Ryan Blodgett (14 points) had a huge first half and senior Cole Greff (10 points) had a steady game on both ends of the court facing the athletic Spartans.
Sophomore Kayden Sund (12 points) came up big in the fourth quarter scoring eight straight points for the Demons.
“That was the plan going in. We couldn’t have just one guy scoring all the points,” Thistlewood said. “We had to have a total team effort. That’s what we did.”
Golden’s opponent in the state quarterfinals will be Air Academy. The No. 2 seed Kadets defeated Pueblo Central 64-54 earlier in the day to advance. The Great 8 game will be played March 7 at Golden High School.
Golden junior Ryan Blodgett (33) drives the baseline on Thomas Jefferson senior Jalen Rose (23) during the first half Saturday night at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
Thomas Jefferson senior Sergio Garcia, right, drives to the basket as Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood (20) attempts to cut off Garcia’s path. Thistlewood hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute to tie the game. He sealed the victory with a steal and two free throws in the final second to lift the Demons to a dramatic 69-65 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)