Chatfield senior Alex Beckley, left, takes a fadeaway jumper Wednesday during the Chargers’ 67-59 victory over Cherry Creek. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — It’s all about “survive and advance” when it comes to the basketball postseason.
That’s precisely what Chatfield’s boys hoops team did Wednesday night. The Chargers had their toughest challenge in three months against Cherry Creek in the round of 16 at Chatfield High School.
“This was good for us. This is what we needed,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “We found out a lot about our team, both good and what we need to work on.”
A 67-59 victory over the Bruins advanced the Chargers into Saturday’s Class 5A state quarterfinals at the Denver Coliseum. The No. 7-seeded Chargers (24-1 overall) will face No. 2 ThunderRidge in the Great 8. The Grizzlies cruised to a 21-point victory over Rampart on Wednesday night.
Chatfield is one victory away from equaling its 5A state semifinal appearance last season. The Chargers have the longest winning streak in 5A at 23 games. However, Chatfield’s string of 17 games won by double-digit points was snapped by Creek.
Chatfield’s Lucas St. Germain takes a 3-pointer in front of Creek’s bench. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We were a little passive,” Chatfield senior Lucas St. Germain admitted after the game. “We need to do a better job on the boards. We came out with the win and that is what really matters.”
The Chargers’ defense was strong in the opening quarter forcing several Bruin turnovers, but Chatfield had its own issues converting at the rim. No. 10 Cherry Creek (16-9) actually took a 15-14 lead early in the second quarter.
“It was frustrating, but we knew we had to keep attacking,” Chatfield senior Alex Beckley said of the struggles at the rim. “It’s going to drop. We had to keep shooting.”
Chatfield senior Joe Miks had a run of seven straight points during a 9-0 run by the Chargers late in the second quarter to lead Chatfield to a 31-19 halftime lead. Beckley, Chatfield’s speedy point guard, got the Chargers going after halftime with a rare 3-pointer.
“I’m just building confidence as I go,” Beckley said of his 3-point shooting. “It looks like it’s paying off slowly, but surely.”
Creek wouldn’t go away in the second half. Senior Jalen Meeks carried the Bruins offensively scoring a game-high 26 points. Chatfield’s lead was cut to as few as seven points with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter when Chatfield senior Titus Reed picked up his fifth foul.
Cherry Creek’s Jalen Meeks, right, had 26 points for the Bruins. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“He (Meeks) is a great athlete and a good scorer,” Schimpeler said. “We knew he would get his points.”
Chatfield was able to take of the ball well enough and make a dozen free throws in the final quarter to hang on for the win. St. Germain (14 points), Beckley (11 points) and Miks (10 points) all finished in double-digit points for the Chargers.
“We needed to get a little eye-opener during the playoffs,” Reed said. “Each level is going to get tougher and tougher. This was a good game for us.”
The closest game Chatfield has had since a 2-point loss to No. 1 Eaglecrest on Dec. 2 was a 69-61 win over Doherty just before the start of 5A Jeffco League play. For the second straight year the Chargers went 14-0 in conference play and have a 30-game league winning streak dating back to the 2014-15 season.
Despite entering the state tournament having lost 7 of 10 games and finishing fifth in the 5A Centennial League, Cherry Creek was dangerous having played one of the top-10 toughest schedules in 5A. After a first-round bye, the Bruins dispatched Denver South 80-71 last Saturday. Meeks led the way for Creek with 23 points.
Next up for Chatfield will be a quarterfinal date with No. 2 ThunderRidge on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)