(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
PUEBLO WEST — In case anyone has forgotten, when the Class 4A boys basketball playoffs start, it’s Cyclone season.
And the other 15 teams remaining on the bracket should be ready to take shelter for a 32-minute storm.
Pueblo West began its 4A state title defense on Saturday with a 100-49 win over Glenwood Springs, advancing to Wednesday’s Sweet 16.
For a team that came into the state tournament as the No. 7 seed, it looks like the Cyclones might still be the team to beat in 2017.
“It was big for us,” senior guard David Simental said. “We wanted to come out and play hard. We’ve had some lapses in the past couple of years, losing in the first.”
But the Cyclones (22-2 overall) had no intention of dropping out early this year. They also had no intention easing into a rhythm on Saturday. Simental attacked the basket early, scoring 11 of Pueblo West’s first 17 points.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Defensively, the Cyclones attacked the Demons (14-11) with a 2-2-1 press that forced turnovers resulting in early baskets. Many of those coming at the hands of Simental who scored a game-high 32 points.
“David was horrible today and shot way below his season percentages. I’m very upset at him right now,” Cyclones coach Bobby Tyler joked after the game. “We ride David’s back. As much as I would love to take all the credit in the world for a state championship last year, you don’t state championships without kids like David.”
His offensive output backed the Demons into a corner and it soon became evident that they weren’t going to recover. But that didn’t stop a team that started two juniors and three sophomores from trying.
A.J. Crowley led the Demons with 21 points and Angel Garcia added 10. But the most important thing that they took away from the game is playoff experience and a painful loss to the 4A champs is a good way for them to fuel a run for next season.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“They’re go-getters and they’re always hungry,” Demons coach Cory Hitchcock said. “They’ll take this personally and they know they could’ve played better.”
But the Cyclones were not going to be deterred. Their only two losses in the regular season came to Rampart and Pueblo South. The Rams are the 15 seed in the 5A tournament and the Colts ended up No. 2 in the 4A tournament. Their body of work didn’t make Pueblo West feel like the No. 7 seed coming into the tournament.
“We felt like we were No. 1,” Simental said. “The new rankings and things change that, but we feel like we’re still No. 1.”
Regardless of where they ended up, they knew that they had to win five games in order to complete another championship run.
They’ll do it the old fashioned way: one game at a time.
“We’re not too worried about it, we’re just focused on the next game,” Simental said. “Whether we’re the team to beat or not, we just want to win the next game.”
That next game will be on Wednesday. And if the Cyclones advance to the 4A Great next weekend, they could have a chance for retribution against Pueblo South, who beat them 67-64 on Feb. 10.
But there’s no looking ahead for the state champs. If they’re going to repeat, they’re going to make their opponents weather the storm one game at a time.