LITTLETON — The unpredictable and wild Class 5A Jeffco boys basketball conference got stranger Saturday afternoon.
Bear Creek ended Chatfield’s 4-game winning streak on the Chargers’ home court with a 60-55 victory. However, most of the talk after the game is what happened between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter.
The scoreboard had Chatfield with a 36-31 lead through three quarters. However, both the official scorebook run by Chatfield and Bear Creek’s scorebook had the Bears with a 34-33 lead. The score was changed on the scoreboard to give the Bears’ a 1-point lead heading to the final quarter.
“Honesty, I don’t understand it,” said Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler, who’s staff and himself pleaded with the three officials that both books at the scorer’s table were incorrect and the scoreboard was actually correct. “I don’t understand how that can happen with two books. Something went wrong.”
Bear Creek’s Jordan Ramos (3) launches a 3-pointer. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The officials said that since both scorebooks were identical with Bear Creek (13-7, 8-4 in league) having a 34-33 lead going to the fourth quarter that was the ruling. An official scorebook run by the home team and scorebook run by the visiting team are used as a check-and-balance if there is a scoring discrepancy.
“All I know was our scorebook and their scorebook was the same,” Bear Creek coach Will Gosch said. “When you have two scorebooks the same I don’t see where there is a controversy. The scorebooks were the same so that is what they went with.”
It appears the discrepancy between the scoreboard and two scorebooks happened when a 3-pointer by Chatfield junior Luke Carlson with 1:42 left in the three quarter was actually marked down in both books as a 3-pointer for Bear Creek senior Jordan Ramos, hence the 6-point swing.
Despite the scoring error, Schimpeler admitted the Chargers (11-10, 7-5) didn’t take advance of having enough time to mount a comeback and extend their winning streak to five games.
“Bear Creek wanted it more than we did, bottom-line,” Schimpeler admitted.
Bear Creek senior Manuel Perez scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes.
“Our system is selfless,” Gosch said about the Bears’ style of play. “If everyone shares and everyone is involved it will work. As soon as one kid tries to take over it doesn’t work.”
Chatfield’s Liam Mann, right, works on the inside on Bear Creek’s Luke Thompson. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Junior Grant Karger had a pair of big 3-pointers for the Bears in the final quarter and senior Jovan Dodig scored on a trio of drives inside the lane in the fourth.
“Every day we work on contact and finishing through contact,” said Dodig, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “We talk about moving the ball and the lanes would open up. If the lane is there I’m going to take it.”
Chatfield seniors Liam Mann (16 points), Isaiah Reed (12 points) and Keland Rumsey (7 points) led the Chargers’ rally attempt in the fourth quarter.
The win leaves Bear Creek tied with Columbine for second in the league with two conference games remaining.
Arvada West (14-7, 9-3) took sole possession atop the league Friday night with a big 55-50 road victory at Columbine (11-10, 8-4). The conference champion gets an automatic bid to the 48-team 5A state tournament and is guaranteed a top-32 seed that would bring at least one home playoff game.
The Bears will need some help by either Pomona or Ralston Valley who face the Wildcats next week to reel A-West back for Bear Creek to have a chance to win the league title.
“We stopped looking at that. That was really a pressure for us,” Gosch said about the league race. “Let’s just take one game at a time and we are really taking one practice at a time.”
While Jeffco’s chase for the league title has been entertaining with a handful of teams in the mix coming into the final week, the RPI rankings haven’t been in the conference’s favor.
Coming into Saturday’s games A-West (RPI #23), Dakota Ridge (RPI #29), Columbine (RPI #34), Bear Creek (RPI #36) and Chatfield (#42) were all within the top 48, but no Jeffco teams would be in the top 16 seeds to get a first-round bye. Likely just two teams would get first-round home games.
Lakewood (RPI #51), Pomona (RPI #55) and Ralston Valley (#56) are all on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason.
Chatfield closes on the regular season with road games at Dakota Ridge (Tuesday) and Columbine (Friday).
Bear Creek, who as at the top of the conference for much of the league play, finishes the regular season with road games at Lakewood (Tuesday), Pomona (Thursday) and Central of Grand Junction (Saturday).
Bear Creek’s Grant Karger, left, goes for a block on Chatfield’s Keland Rumsey. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)