Shining Mountain boys basketball beat Holly in OT at the 1A Final 4. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
LOVELAND — Gray Hill was in perfect position.
After a three-pointer by senior guard Gavin Edwards, a primetime player this weekend at the Class 1A state tournament at the Budweiser Events Center, tied the game at 53 with around 20 seconds to go, Edwards actually air-balled his next attempt.
Sigi Avalos, one of Holly’s electrifying junior guards, gave his Wildcats a 55-53 lead. As it happened though, on the very next possession for Shining Mountain, Hill grabbed the ball out of the air and powered in a game-tying bucket, but missed the potential winning free throw.
Nonetheless, with the game tied at 55 and sent into overtime, Hill went on a personal 7-0 run and No. 4 Shining Mountain (23-2) upset No. 1 Holly (21-3), the defending state champion, in overtime by a score of 63-59. The Lions advanced to their second-ever state finals as they lost to McClave in the 2013 title game.
Despite the fact that Hill, a senior forward, was the ultimate star in the semifinals, dominating the paint to the tune of 32 points on 15-of-19 from the field, while also grabbing 13 rebounds, Edwards also contributed 14 crucial points. No one else was in double figures, but after Holly led 18-9 after the first and 37-25 at halftime with offensive fireworks, the game changed when the Lions started earning more stops defensively.
“Jordan (Cherin) took a few charges of No. 11 and their offense runs through him,” Hill said of Holly junior guard Yaniel Vidal, a dynamic and athletic creator. “That really shut them down and gave us defensive opportunities. We worked hard enough to come back.”
Vidal picked up his fourth foul while Holly was up 42-32 with 2:50 remaining in the third, and the Wildcats’ offense started to sputter a bit without him.
Vidal finished the game with 11 points, Avalos had 16 and Hayden Davis 10, but it wasn’t enough as Shining Mountain outscored Holly 27-12 in the final frame and into overtime.
“We had the most fans here,” Hill said excitedly. “It’s for them, it’s for us and it’s for the school. It’s awesome.”
The state championship game against Fleming will be played at 7 p.m. at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland on Saturday.
(2) Fleming 51 (3) Ouray 49
The Trojans actually went up 20-8 after the first quarter, but the Wildcats chipped into the lead and eventually came with away with a victory. With the win, Fleming makes a return trip to the state championship game after losing 33-32 to Holly a season ago.
Fleming (23-2) was led by Jaxon King’s 16 points. Blake Meredith chipped in 12. Caleb Preston finished with a game-high 18 points in the loss for Ouray (21-3).
The Wildcats will be making their third appearance in a state championship game. In 1946, they lost in the B title game to Pleasant View by one.