Eaglecrest beat Rangeview in the 5A Final 4 on Friday. More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
BOULDER — More important than any of Colbey Ross’s 12 points was his final steal of the game. And as a result of that steal, Rangeview is perfect no more.
Ahead 55-54, with the Raiders looking to attack, Ross came away with the steal and got fouled. He sank both free throws and Eaglecrest hang on to top the Raiders 58-55 Friday night, advancing to the Class 5A state championship game.
The Raptors last appeared in the title game three years ago, beating Denver East 63-44.
“Everybody has tried to take (Ross) away this year but he battles and rebounds,” Raptors coach John Olander said. “I keep trying to tell people that. He’s able to affect a game without scoring.”
And in a state semifinal game where he wasn’t scoring, Ross was going to have to affect the game in other ways. He was able to corral rebounds and find open players to help the Raptors (25-2 overall) keep pace with the high-powered Raiders (26-1).
Rangeview erased a five-point lead that Eaglecrest had built in the first quarter and took a one-point lead at halftime thanks to an Elijah Blake 3-pointer that fell at the buzzer.
At the break, Ross had no points and the Raptors were shooting a dismal 39 percent.
“I knew my shot was off the whole game, but I knew my teammates trusted me,” Ross said. “I trusted them to make big plays and it was just an all-around team effort.”
And that couldn’t be any accurate.
Ross led his team in scoring with 12 points, but he only connected on one field goal. Going 10-of-10 at the free throw line was a huge factor.
But where the Eaglecrest really put their work in was on the defensive side of the ball. The Raiders averaged over 73 points per game coming in and could only net 55 against a disciplined Eaglecrest team.
“We had to stop dribble-penetration,” Olander said. “We had to keep them in front of us and limit their wide-open threes. They were going to hit some threes, we just could’t let them get layups and threes.”
The Raiders went 5-17 from behind the arc, shooting 29 percent to the Raptors’ 45.
The Raptors now look to win the school’s second state championship in four years. Ross wasn’t a part of the 2013 team that pulled off what many saw as a major upset over Denver East. But he is able to turn to a member of that team to try get himself in a state championship mindset.
He has chatted with his older brother Elijah who graduated last year and just finished his freshman season at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
“I’ve been talking to him just about every day trying to figure out what he did and what I need to do,” Ross said. “He’s a great leader so I can take what he’s done and try to apply it out here.”
The 5A state championship game will tip at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.