A pair of dominating wins for the Roaring Fork High School girls basketball team at their home Brenda Patch Tournament over the weekend set up an exciting Saturday championship game.
The Rams easily defeated Basalt 68-27 to open the tournament on Thursday, Dec. 5, and handled Class 4A Steamboat Springs 46-26 on Friday night.
That left Roaring Fork — ranked among the top-10 Class 3A teams in Colorado — to face a formidable 4A opponent, the Palisade Bulldogs, for the tournament title game. The result was a 61-59 overtime win for the host team, now 4-0.
Roaring Fork had to fight its way back into it after falling behind 17-5 in the early going against the taller, more physical Lady Bulldogs.
“They fought every step of the way against a very good Palisade team,” second-year head coach Mike Vidakovich said.
Eventually, the Rams’ speed and aggressive full-court press defense wore down the Bulldogs, and by the fourth quarter Roaring Fork had taken the lead and ultimately forced the game into overtime.
Senior Erica Crownhart and sophomore Riley Bevington combined to make six free throws in the extra frame, and junior Nikki Tardif scored a basket to give the Rams the win.
Bevington finished the game with 19 points, while Tardif had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Crownhart had seven points and six steals, and sister Carley Crownhart had 14 points and six steals.
In the Basalt game, Carley Crownhart was the leading scorer with 21, and Tardif led the way against Steamboat with 12 points.
“Regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end, these girls always play their hearts out,” Vidakovich said. “They are a together group of kids, and the ball finds the open player with this team.”
RFHS hosts the Patch tournament each year in memory of student-athlete Brenda Patch, who was killed along with her mother, Loretta, in a Thanksgiving Day 1986 car accident.
In boys action, Roaring Fork beat eventual tournament champion Banning Lewis Academy in a back-and-forth 57-54 thriller to open on Thursday.
Junior Lucas Carballeira had 18 points in the win, including three 3-pointers, and junior Kiko Pena had 15 rebounds, 13 points and three steals.
However, it would be the Stallions who went on to defeat Fort Lupton, 47-36, on Friday to set up the tournament championship game against Basalt on Saturday. It was Banning Lewis for the title, 67-48.
Roaring Fork, meanwhile, fell to Basalt 55-46 on Friday, giving up a 31-21 halftime advantage. The Rams then lost the third-place game on Saturday, 48-39, to Plateau Valley.
“We led most of the game against Basalt, but turnovers hurt us going into the fourth quarter,” veteran Rams head coach Jason Kreiling said. “Basalt kept the pressure on the entire game, but there were still a lot of good things that I saw. We’ve played well defensively in each of our games.
“It’s good to have some tough games to start the season. It helps us see where we are and what things need more work.”
Up next, both Roaring Fork teams travel to play at the Weld Central Tournament in Keenesburg Dec. 12-14. Opponents include Weld Central on Thursday, Regis Groff on Friday and Brush on Saturday.
Basalt wrestling
The combined Basalt High School wrestling team, which includes a few student-athletes from Roaring Fork, began its season with a home meet on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
The Longhorns defeated Coal Ridge 63-12, and beat Glenwood Springs 46-36.
In wrestled matches against Coal Ridge, at 126 pounds, it was Coal Ridge’s Jesse Richel over Basalt’s Roaney Requeno, winning by fall in 3:59; and at 150 pounds, Basalt’s James Opp won a 9-5 decision over Pierce Ruechel.
Against Glenwood: 113 pounds – Glenwood’s Eli Cuc over Oscar Arroyo (MD 13-2); 126 – Basalt’s Roaney Requeno over Luke Dizon (fall, 3:10); 132 – Glenwood’s Ichiro Echavarria over Jesus Rodriguez (fall, 3:45); 138 – Basalt’s Liam Drake over Connor High (fall, 1:32); 144 – Glenwood’s Robert Hartman over Tobias Uncapher (fall, 2:22); 150 – Basalt’s James Opp over Kenai Kellogg (fall, 3:57); 157 – Glenwood’s Sora Hess over Luca Del Cid (fall, 2:41); 165 – Basalt’s Luca Shafer over William Feeney (fall, 5:24); 175 – Basalt’s Herberth Requeno over Eleazar Armendariz Mellin (fall, 0:44); 190 – Basalt’s Brooks Ragan over Ramses Acosta (fall, 1:38).
Wrestling at the Buena Vista duals Dec. 6-7, Basalt placed fourth in Group A, and second in the 4v4 results, falling 42-36 to Trinidad in the first place match. Other team scores included West Grand 54, Basalt 23; Buena Vista 70, Basalt 11; Bennett 40, Basalt 18; and Basalt 30, Sierra Grande Senior 23.