(Brie Thomas/CHSAANow.com)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — With a packed Grizzly Den, a showdown was sure to happen between No. 7 Rock Canyon and No. 5 ThunderRidge in an important conference game.
Both the Grizzlies and the Jaguars were undefeated in conference play heading into the top-10 Class 5A matchup, but that all changed Friday night when Rock Canyon pulled away with a 44-43 victory of the Grizzlies.
The game started out with each team trading baskets. ThunderRidge senior Clay Verk started the game with three back to back baskets putting ThunderRidge ahead by two, 6-4. Rock Canyon countered those baskets tying the game with five minutes left to play.
Looking for a sudden spark, Kaison Hammonds drained a 3-pointer, giving the Grizzlies just what they needed. The lead that ThunderRidge gained was short lived as Rock Canyon marched down the court and hit a 3-pointer of its own.
With three minutes left to play in the quarter, the Grizzlies were unable to get a ball to drop, giving Rock Canyon the opportunity to strike. And the Jaguars did just that, after Elijah Rodriguez fouled Colin Rardin on a 3-point attempt. Rardin stepped up to the charity stripe, knocking down two free throws, giving Rock Canyon an 11-10 lead after one.
The second quarter started out just like the first one ended for the Jaguars, with Sam Masten nailing a 3-pointer, extending Rock Canyon’s lead to four. After the start of the second quarter, Masten finally had found his rhythm, rattling off nine second quarter points.
“I thought I played really well, the ball was going in tonight, so I was just feeling it, I was trying find spots to score and get my teammates involved,” Masten said after the game.
ThunderRidge was looking to strike and cut down the lead, that’s when big man in the middle Clay Verk stepped up. Verk aggressively drove to the basket and was fouled on his way up. After knocking down the free throw, ThunderRidge pulled within four, 20-16.
With the momentum shifting in the Grizzlies direction, Troy Brady drove to the basket, making the layup. The halftime buzzer sounded and the teams headed to the locker room with Rock Canyon leading ThunderRidge 23-21.
The third quarter started out just the way the Grizzlies wanted, tying the game up at 23-23.
After Verk scored 13 first half points, Rock Canyon knew it had to do something to stop his aggressive play.
“We knew we were going to have to make plays and we were gonna have to get stops,” Rock Canyon head coach Kent Grams. “Clay Verk is so big, we talked about it at halftime, that we gotta find ways to limit his touches.”
After picking up two quick fouls, Verk was sent to the bench, giving Rock Canyon the fire power they needed in the post. ThunderRidge wasn’t playing strong defense, forcing coach Joe Ortiz to call a timeout.
It turns out the timeout gave Rock Canyon an edge, as the Jaguars came out of it and drained a 3-pointer giving them the lead back. The Jaguars were able to continue this momentum down the stretch as they made a 6-0 run on the Grizzlies, ending with a buzzer beater from Rock Canyon.
The fourth quarter started out a little shaky for both teams, as neither were able to get a ball to drop through the net.
The Grizzlies came out in the fourth quarter with a full-court press that led to a Jaguars turn over, giving them the ball back. Hammonds was able to get through the defense for a layup, but was fouled on the way up. He knocked down one of two free throws, cutting the Jaguars lead to five.
A silenced Grizzly crowd sat in the bleachers with looks of defeat upon them. Then Brady swooshed a 3-pointer right in front of the crowd, and the Grizzly faithful were alive again.
Rock Canyon found itself fouling ThunderRidge, allowing the Grizzlies to get to the line and cut the deficit to four with under three minutes to play.
With two agonizing minutes left, Rock Canyon extended the lead to 42-36 but the Grizzlies weren’t finished.
Austin Mueller of ThunderRidge was patiently waiting for one of his 3-pointers to drop and with 33 seconds left his moment had arrived, just when he needed it most. The Grizzlies were down by one and had the momentum.
Then a ThunderRidge foul sent Isaac Hirsch to the line. He hit both free throws giving Rock Canyon a 44-41 lead.
With a last chance effort, Hammonds was able to drop in an easy layup but the clock continued to run, giving Rock Canyon a 44-43 win over the Grizzlies.
“We knew it was going to be a battle but I’m so proud of our kids and they deserve all the credit,” Grams said.
ThunderRidge drops to 14-3 and next plays against Douglas County on Feb. 2.
Rock Canyon (16-2) will look to continue its win streak, now at seven games, when the Jaguars travel to Regis Jesuit that same night.