Mountain Vista Brady Subart (23) looks to drive on Ralston Valley junior Andrew Wingard during the Class 5A Sweet 16 game Wednesday night at Mountain Vista High School. Subart gave the Golden Eagles a spark with three 3-pointers in Mountain Vista’s 68-38 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Mountain Vista turned the tables on Ralston Valley in the Class 5A boys’ basketball Sweet 16 game Wednesday night.
The Ralston Valley Mustangs came in as the defensive-minded squad having held a dozen opponents this season to under 50 points. However, the Golden Eagles turned to their defense early to build a lead and take a 68-38 home victory.
Ralston Valley senior Zac Stevens, far left, and junior teammate Andrew Wingard fight for a rebound with Mountain Vista senior Graham Smith during the first quarter Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We did something different, which we normally don’t do,” Mountain Vista coach Bob Wood said after his team’s 16th straight win. “We went with our zone trap at the start of the game. We normally play man-to-man for a while. We thought with (Ralston Valley’s) size we could go to the zone trap and see if we could prevent them from going inside and force some turnovers.”
The plan worked to a tee. Mountain Vista (24-1) forced 22 first-half turnovers and built a double-digit lead by halftime. Senior Jake Pemberton, Golden Eagles’ leading scorer, got off to a hot start on the offensive side scoring 10 points in the opening four minutes of the game.
“Today we were a little pumped and electrified,” said Pemberton, who finished with a game-high 24 points. “We came out strong in the first half, got some steal and some easy baskets.”
Mountain Vista came in averaging 78.5 points per game. Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad was hoping for a low-scoring affair, but the Mustangs couldn’t keep the Golden Eagles’ offense in check.
“We definitely knew we could win the game if we played to our potential on the offensive side and kept playing defense like we have,” Pemberton said.
Ralston Valley’s only scoring success it had was when it was able to get the ball down in the paint to senior Zac Stevens (13 points) and sophomore Dallas Walton (10 points).
The Mustangs (18-8) struggled with their outside shooting the whole game. Ralston Valley didn’t make a 3-pointer the entire game. Senior Bryn Finnefrock (nine points) and junior Jordan Harnum (four points) were the only other Mustangs to get in the scoring column besides Stevens and Walton.
Mountain Vista senior Jake Pemberton, middle, has the ball knock out of his hands while driving to the basket on Ralston Valley senior Bryn Finnefrock, left, and sophomore Dallas Walton on Wednesday night. Pemberton scored a game-high 24 points in the Golden Eagles’ 68-38 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
“That was a big factor,” Walton said of Ralston Valley’s poor shooting night. “I think if we would’ve made some shots it would have been much closer of a game. Still, we need to execute and take care of the ball.”
Junior Brady Subart stepped up his game after the first quarter for Mountain Vista. The guard made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
“He (Subart) is a really good shooter. He hasn’t really shot the ball well the last couple of ball games. I thought Brady had a bad first quarter,” Wood said. “I was glad to see him step up and starting hitting in the second quarter. I thought he played really well in the second half.”
A long jumper by Pemberton with 2:43 left in the third quarter pretty much put the game out of reach by extending the No. 1 seed’s lead to 20 points, 43-23.
Wood was able to empty his bench in the fourth quarter. When the final horn sounded 12 Golden Eagles scored in their last game on their home court this season.
Next up for Mountain Vista is a trip to the Denver Coliseum. The Golden Eagles will face defending 5A state champion Eaglecrest in the Great 8. The Raptors knocked off Chatfield 77-62 on Wednesday night.
Eaglecrest ended Mountain Vista’s season last year in the state semifinals with a 73-59 victory.
The Mustangs finished third in the 5A Jeffco League this season and now turn their attention to next season. Conrad will return two starters in Andrew Wingard and the 6-foot-9 Walton.
“We need him to get stronger, and I think he will,” Conrad said of Walton. “He is determined and he is going to be a great player.”
Ralston Valley senior Bryn Finnefrock, right, drives on Mountain Vista senior Carson Simon during the second half Wednesday night. Finnefrock finished with nine points in the Mustangs’ season-ending loss. (Dennis Pleuss)