It’s been more than two decades since there was this much dual excitement around the Roaring Fork High School basketball programs, and the Carbondale faithful will get a chance to help it unfold this weekend.
The boys and girls teams both earned the right to host a regional round of the Class 3A state playoffs after finishing the regular season ranked No. 8 in their respective 32-team playoff fields.
The top eight teams serve as hosts for the first two rounds, with four teams each playing Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, for the right to advance to the “Great 8” of the state tournament at the University of Denver on March 12-14.
The Rams boys took care of business to close out the regular season, taking the 3A Western Slope League (WSL) title outright at 12-0 with a 82-68 win over Cedaredge at home on Feb. 25, a 64-52 win at Grand Valley the following night, and winning 70-56 at Gunnison on Saturday.
The Rams, 20-3 overall, open regionals against No. 25 Brush (11-12) at 7:30pm Friday. A win sets them up to play the winner of No. 9 Wiggins (16-7) versus No. 24 Monte Vista (12-10) game at 12:30pm Saturday.
Likewise, the Lady Rams cruised through the final three games of the regular season, winning 71-44 over Cedaredge, 51-27 at Grand Valley, and 70-42 at Gunnison, to claim a share of the league title with North Fork, both at 12-2.
At 21-2 overall, Roaring Fork hosts No. 25 Manual (13-7) at 6pm Friday; the winner playing either No. 9 Thomas MacLaren School (20-1) or No. 24 Strasburg (11-12) at 11am on Saturday.
Storybook season
The three co-captains for both Rams teams took some time at the conclusion of a practice session last week to reflect on the ups and downs of the season, and what it will take to make a run for a state championship.
“It’s all about trust right now,” senior Ethan Wilson said.
That goes all the way down the bench, he said.
“We know that anyone who subs in is going to have an equal, if not better impact when they come into the game,” Wilson said. “We all really trust each other, and heading into the postseason, that’s a big thing.
“We’ve also gotten so much better throughout the season,” he said. “We’re quicker, and more athletic. Some of that credit goes to our coaching staff; they push us super hard in practice every day. But it’s also each other. We keep each other accountable.”
Senior Lucas Carballeira, the team’s scoring and assists leader (19.9 points and 4.2 assists per game), recalls some early lessons learned.
“We took those two losses to start the year [72-65 against Fort Lupton in the home Brenda Patch Tournament, and 81-65 to Regis Goff] and noticed what we did wrong in those games — ball pressure and speed — and really worked on that,” Carballeira said.
“We’re going to see more of that again in the playoffs, and we’re ready for it.”
The Rams were without senior rebounding leader Kiko Pena (10.4 per game) for the last five games of the season due to a facial fracture, but he’s expected to be back for the playoffs.
“I’m really excited to be back out there,” Pena said.
“Every year, it seems we have found something special that works,” he said of a group of players who have been playing ball together since elementary school.
“We just have to be ready for faster play. These bigger teams from eastern Colorado, they’re a lot faster and play way different than how the Western Slope plays. So, we’re just going to have to adjust to that,” Pena said.
The Lady Rams also had to adjust when their senior rebounding leader, Nikki Tardif, was out due to injury for a stretch of games when a loss to North Fork allowed the Miners to pull even with the Rams in the league standings.
That experience made the team better, co-captains Tardif and juniors Riley Bevington and Hazel Jenkins agreed.
“It was really hard to play without Nikki, but we also found a way to do it,” said Bevington, who is the team’s scoring and assists leader [25.9 points and 3.5 assists per game]. “Everybody stepped into a role to cover what she does for us … I think it helped us find our rhythm.”
Added Jenkins, “Nikki is a really strong, aggressive player, and when she was out we needed to step up and rise to her aggression level. And when she came back, we were all able to continue to play at that level, which made us even better as a team.”
Though it was tough to be on the bench, Tardif said she definitely noticed the positive effect.
“Watching from the sideline, you could just see how Hazel’s shots and her moves under the hoop, and her rebounds just skyrocketed from where she started at the beginning of season, and Abby [Harris], even though she’s a freshman and is still learning, she really stepped up,” Tardif said. “It was pretty fun watching them develop and continue to grow.”
Pack the stands
What’s been building over the past two seasons, with regional bids that took the Rams on the road and ended in second-round losses, has a different feel now that they’ll be playing on the home court.
There’s a huge prize on the line for both Rams teams — a coveted trip to play in the state championship tournament.
“Our goal the whole season has been to host that regional, and it hasn’t been done here in like 20-something years,” Wilson said. Added Carballeira, “It’s just easier to play in your own gym. You know, you’ve got your fans behind you, and it’s just much more comfortable for us.”
Pena is also looking forward to a final throw-down on the home court.
“I had to miss playing on my senior night, so that was pretty hard for me,” he said. “So, having the chance to play back here, I mean, that would mean the world to me and the whole team.”
That’s Friday night, 6pm for the Roaring Fork ladies and 7:30pm for the boys.
