A pair of thrillers in the district championship games on Saturday in Grand Junction for the Roaring Fork High School boys and girls basketball teams ended in close losses for the Rams.
The Carbondale kids are headed to the 3A state playoffs nonetheless.
After nearly pulling off the upset against the undefeated Grand Valley Cardinals, ultimately falling in the title game 30-28, the Lady Rams (15-7) earned the 10th seed in the 32-team state playoff field.
They travel for a first-round regional game on Friday, hosted by No. 7 Highland High School, matched against No. 23 Windsor Charter Academy (13-8). The winner of that game advances to the second round on Saturday for the right to play in the Great 8, taking place March 7-9 at the University of Denver (DU).
Meanwhile, the Roaring Fork boys (11-11) fell 56-49 to Meeker in the district title game on Saturday.
The Rams earned the No. 25 seed for the playoffs and will travel to play No. 8 Peyton (14-6) on Friday, with the winner playing Saturday for the right to advance to the 3A boys state tournament, also taking place at DU.
Friday game time is 4:30pm for both the boys and girls. Games can be livestreamed by subscription at nfhsnetwork.com
Down to the wire
After advancing to the Saturday final at Grand Junction Central High School with a 60-46 semifinal win over Olathe on Friday, the Roaring Fork girls took advantage of a low-scoring affair and some misfortune on the part of Grand Valley to make a late run against the top-seeded Cardinals.
The Rams stayed within striking distance in a defense-dominated first half, trailing 17-12 at the break after the Cardinals’ senior leader, Jaycee Pittman, was sidelined with a knee injury.
Pittman attempted to come back into the game at the start of the second half but was unable to continue. Her teammates managed to keep the Rams at bay, extending the lead to 23-14 at the end of the third period.
Over the final eight minutes of play, defensive pressure by the Rams forced several Grand Valley turnovers, and by the 2:30 mark the Rams found themselves down just a point, 27-26, when sophomore Nikki Tardif connected from the left side. A short time later, a foul shot from Tardif tied it 27-all, but the Cardinals had a quick answer to retake the lead.
“We got a lot of steals off the press with some good looks inside, but the basket seemed to have a lid on it,” Rams head coach Mike Vidakovich said. “Sometimes we get going at such a frenetic pace, grabbing steals and getting a fast break, which is great. But we’ve also got to know when to take a breath and make sure to square up when we take those shots.”
Roaring Fork had its chances in the closing seconds but couldn’t quite pull off the upset.
“These girls always hang in there,” Vidakovich said. “We got a pretty high seed [for the playoffs], and I think we have a good chance to get through Friday night and play Highland on their home court.
“It will be a good experience for them,” he said of a young team that should make another playoff run next season.
Grand Valley earned the third seed for the playoffs and will host No. 30 Platte Canyon on Friday.
Playoff return for boys
In their district final against Meeker, the Roaring Fork boys held a 10-point lead near the end of the first quarter. The more experienced Cowboys took advantage of some Rams mistakes to get back into it and secure the win.
“In Friday’s game we played well, and everyone that played had big contributions, including a best game so far from Lawson (Kreiling),” head coach Jason Kreiling said of a 79-66 semifinal win over Cedaredge, which beat Roaring Fork for the district championship last year.
Saturday’s final started off well for the Rams, but Kreiling said a combination of some frustration and inexperience in key moments of the game got the better of his team. By the early minutes of the third quarter, Meeker had taken a 13-point lead, 43-30.
“Once you get in a hole against a good team like Meeker, it’s hard to climb out,” Kreiling said.
Roaring Fork made a late run but couldn’t quite overcome the deficit. Senior Noel Richardson finished with 14 points, while sophomore Lucas Carballeira had 12, including two three-pointers.
Meeker enters the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, hosting No. 26 Florence on Friday.