HIGHLANDS RANCH — The only thing missing for Mountain Vista senior Connor Staib on Saturday afternoon was a cape.
With the No. 14-seeded Golden Eagles trailing by 16 points — 26-10 — midway through the second quarter in the Class 5A boys basketball second-round game, Staib took it upon himself to make sure No. 45 Chatfield wasn’t going to clip Mountain Vista’s postseason run short.
“I knew we had to get some scoring going,” Staib said after his 32-point performance after being shutout in the first quarter. “I just tried to get my shot open and get my teammates open.”
Chatfield junior Christian Holmes (13) takes the ball up on Mountain Vista’s Garrett Sweeney. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Mountain Vista (15-9 record) eventually pulled away late to get a 78-68 victory. Staib poured in 13 points in the second quarter, 11 points in the third quarter and capped off his monster game with eight points in the final quarter.
“We knew he (Staib) was going to get his points,” said Chatfield junior Christian Holmes, who led the Chargers with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. “We weren’t going to stop him completely, but he got a little more than what we wanted him to.”
The Golden Eagles advance face No. 3 Chaparral in the Sweet 16 on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
“We knew Chatfield would come out and play hard,” Staib said. “We just have to come out and match their intensity. I did take awhile for us to get going, but we survived.”
Mountain Vista didn’t take its first lead of the game until senior Garrett Sweeney buried a 3-pointer with 4:10 left in the third quarter to put the Golden Eagles up 47-46. Sweeney finished with 10 points and junior Simon May pitched in 15 points for Mountain Vista.
“We thought we had it in us to beat them,” said Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler, who coach the Chargers to a 12-13 record this season. “The better team won. Our injuries and depth got to us. We had to go to some young players who weren’t quite ready for this.”
Chatfield’s Liam Mann (40) powers it up against Mountain Vista’s Aaron Albrechtsen. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Schimpeler added that he was impressed with how some of his youngsters, including junior varsity players who were forced into action Saturday, stepped up on the big stage and played well at times. The loss of 6-foot-3 junior Conner Vernon for the season in early February due to an ankle injury dramatically hurt the Chargers’ depth.
Seniors Isaiah Reed used his speed to slash his way to 15 points. Senior Liam Mann had a solid game inside the paint with 15 points too.
“We definitely don’t go down without a fight,” Holmes said. “That is what you can count on when you play Chatfield.”
It wasn’t the regular season Chatfield, two-time defending 5A Jeffco League champs, had envisioned. The Chargers squeaked into the 48-team 5A state tournament field as the No. 45 seed after a below .500 record and 7-7 finish in conference play. Chatfield tied for fifth in the league and ended the regular season with three straight losses.
The 2017-18 season didn’t look anything like the Chargers’ previous two campaigns where Chatfield had back-to-back 14-0 records in 5A Jeffco to cruise to consecutive league titles.
Mountain Vista senior Connor Staib (21) poured in 32 points against Chatfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
However, Chatfield took advantage when it sneaked into the postseason. The Chargers managed the biggest upset of the open round ousting No. 19 Vista Ridge on the Wolves’ home court Feb. 21.
“I thought we finished well. I’m proud of them for that,” Schimpeler said.
Mountain Vista didn’t come into Saturday’s game with a ton of momentum.
The Golden Eagles had lost 3-of-4 games entering postseason play after a first-round bye. Top-10 seeded Regis Jesuit, ThunderRidge and Highlands Ranch all defeated Mountain Vista in the closing weeks of the regular season to push the Golden Eagles into a tie for sixth in the deep and talented Continental League.
“This was a pretty good test for us,” Staib said. “We’ll be a little more prepared for the next game. We are looking forward to getting an upset in the next round.”
Mountain Vista’s Simon May (2) drives on Chatfield’s Isaiah Reed on Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)