Friday Roundup: Air Academy offense roars Kadets past Mullen in first round of state tournament

Highlights from Friday’s high school sports scene around the Pikes Peak region.

Hockey

Air Academy 5, Mullen 1

At Boulder Valley Rink: Jake Ebmeyer made 25 saves and the Air Academy offense roared to life with two goals in both the first and second periods as the No. 3 Kadets defeated No. 6 Mullen in the first round of the state tournament Friday.

Air Academy faces No. 2 Monarch Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Jonathan Valtin and Nick Law got things started for Air Academy with first-period goals before Eddie Macguire and Connor Nash chipped in with two more goals in the second.

Alec Ortiz made it 5-0 when he found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining.

Resurrection Christian 4, Doherty 1

At CAHA: Jared Wolf made 27 saves for No. 6 Doherty but the Spartans could not get past No. 3 Resurrection Christian in the first round of the state tournament.

John Tower scored 1:41 into the game and Resurrection Christian received two more goals from Zach Lish and Tanner Ulland to make it 3-0 three minutes into the second period.

Patrick Alldredge tried to rally Doherty when he made it a 3-1 game with a second period goal assisted by Ryan Lefebvere and Evan Weidner. However, Brandon Alcorn was too good in net making 19 saves to help the Cougars advance to the second round.  

Monarch 12, Lewis-Palmer 2

At Boulder Valley Rink: No. 12 Lewis-Palmer had no answer for No. 2 Monarch in the first round of the state tournament.

Dmitri Smith and Gage Johnson each tallied power-play goals for Lewis-Palmer.

Jake Orsborn, Cameron Gardner and Gian Cervo each had two goals for Monarch.

Kyle Aiko made 15 saves for the victory.

Boys' Basketball

Fountain-Fort Carson 76, Palmer 58

At Fountain-Fort Carson: Pikes Peak Region 5A No. 1 Fountain-Fort Carson clinched the Metro League title for the second year in a row behind the efforts of twins Al and Anthony Davis.

Al Davis finished with a game-high 25 points and Anthony contributed with 12 of his own to help the Trojans (15-7, 9-1) enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak.

Yet coach Greg Williams said not only have the Davis’s brought an offensive punch, but they have provided Fountain-Fort Carson with valuable leadership.

“They are the reason we won the title,” Williams said. “Just their leadership, their tenacity and how hard they play everyday. I am just grateful to have our young kids get schooled by them and for them to keep learning from them.”

It was the largest offensive output by F-FC all season and Williams believes the Trojans are right where they want to be.

“We’re a happy squad,” Williams said. “We finished off like we wanted to. We were happy to win that title.”

Palmer (2-21, 1-9) received 19 points from C.J. Moore and 18 points from Nathan Raak but simply could not keep up with the offensively-gifted Trojans.

Sand Creek 60, Falcon 43

At Falcon: 4A No. 1 Sand Creek rebounded from this week’s tough loss to Lewis-Palmer by taking care of business against Falcon in a Pikes Peak Athletic Conference game.

Bryan Jenkins scored 22 points for the Scorpions (21-2, 12-2) while Chances Matlock led Falcon (13-10, 6-8) with 13 points in each team’s regular-season finale.

Lewis-Palmer 55, Vista Ridge 36

At Vista Ridge:  4A No. 3 Lewis-Palmer ends the regular season on a five-game winning streak after Jordan Scott led the Rangers with 17 points.

Lewis-Palmer (20-3, 13-1 Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) also received 13 points apiece from Justin Smith and Tyler Owens.

No stats were reported for Vista Ridge (6-17, 3-11).   

Widefield 56, Harrison 43

At Harrison: Anthony Saunders (17 points) and Dominic Howard (16) combined for 33 of Widefield’s 56 points in each team’s 4A Metro League season finale.

Widefield (17-6, 11-3) used a 20-10 fourth quarter performance to pull away from Harrison (10-13, 4-10) after starting the quarter with a slim 36-33 advantage.

Quincy Harding had 17 points for the Panthers.  

Pikes Peak Christian 59, Hanover 26

At Pikes Peak Christian: Mark Waters shot 64 percent from the field and finished the night with 16 points to lead Pikes Peak Christian to victory in a nonconference matchup.

Waters also had eight assists as the Eagles (10-9) shot an impressive 47 percent as a team. 

No stats were reported for Hanover (3-16).

Wasson 63, Sierra 49

At Sierra: Wasson completed a perfect league season with a 14-point win over Sierra.

The Thunderbirds (22-1, 14-0 4A Metro) held off a game Sierra, as DJ Hanes scored a game-high 20 points and Dominic Garcia added 17. Gabe Ehrlin chipped in 14.

Sierra finished in third place in league. Tytus Winters and Carlos Tucker each scored 13 for the Stallions (14-9, 9-5).

Playoff brackets will be released Sunday. Sierra coach Terry Dunn would like to see his Stallions stay at home in the first round.

"We'll have to wait and see," he said. "Hopefully we'll get a first-round home game."

The Stallions trailed by eight with 4 minutes to play, but failure to convert on free throws cost them the game, Dunn said.

Girls’ Basketball

Palmer 74, Fountain-Fort Carson 34

At Palmer: 5A No. 1 Palmer (21-2, 10-0) finishes the season undefeated in the Metro League and undefeated at home (12-0).

Shanah Leaf and Molly Myers both went out in style on senior night with 18 and 14 points respectively for the Terrors.

“They were happy but it was kind of an emotional night with our senior-parent night tonight,” said coach Dave Shackelford. “They knew going in they wanted to finish the league strong.”

Leaf had a team-high eight rebounds and Palmer outrebounded Fountain-Fort Carson (2-20, 0-10) 48-13.

Amber Perryman had 15 points for the Trojans.

Sand Creek 58, Falcon 36

At Falcon: Liah Davis scored 12 points to help 4A No. 2 Sand Creek (19-4, 14-0 PPAC), which wrapped up the league title a week ago, complete a perfect league record.

The girls’ team is the first basketball team at Sand Creek to win a league title of any kind.

Mesa Ridge 68, Mitchell 17

At Mesa Ridge: 4A No. 1 Mesa Ridge had five players score in double digits to finish the season undefeated in its regular-season finale.

Sami Rudd scored a team-high 14 points as Mesa Ridge (23-0, 14-0 Metro League) shot 43 percent from the field.

The Grizzlies were excellent from the free throw line making 12-of-15. Kylee Shook scored six of her 12 points from the charity stripe.

No stats were reported for Mitchell (7-16, 4-10).     

Vanguard 53, Colorado Springs School 22

At Vanguard: 2A No. 1 Vanguard locked up the Black Forest League title with a 31-point victory over Colorado Springs School.

Vanguard (18-1, 8-1) wins the league crown over ECA (15-4, 8-1) due to the Courser’s 47-41 victory over the Eagles on Feb. 9.

Caitlin Bower led Vanguard past Colorado Springs School with a season-high 20 points while Bailey Haist had 11 points and seven steals.

Kendra Baucom had 11 points for the Kodiaks (11-8, 4-5).

Doherty 60, Liberty 21

At Doherty: 5A No. 2 Doherty ends the regular season on a two-game winning streak.

Amanda Dix had eight points but Liberty (11-12, 3-7 Metro League) lost its fifth straight game.

No stats were reported for Doherty (14-9, 8-2).

The Spartans only two losses in the Metro League have come against local power Palmer.

Palmer Ridge 63, Cheyenne Mountain 33

At Cheyenne Mountain: 4A No. 3 Palmer Ridge (20-3, 12-2 4A Pikes Peak) received a double-double from Ali Meyer (21 points, 11 rebounds) to win its seventh consecutive game.

No stats were reported for Cheyenne Mountain (2-21, 1-13).

Harrison 50, Widefield 35

At Widefield: Harrison used a 20-7 third quarter to overcome a 16-15 halftime deficit and defeat Widefield in its 4A Metro League season-finale.

Harrison (13-10, 10-4) used a balanced offensive attack to earn the victory and finish ahead of Widefield (11-12, 9-5) for third place in the Metro League.

Angie Smith scored 19 points for the Gladiators.

Sierra 65, Wasson 22

At Wasson: TaLeeza Earls shot 56 percent and scored 22 points, while also recording seven steals, to lead Sierra past Wasson in the T-Birds final girls’ basketball game.

Junior Rebecca Cross continued to be a force on the low block recording a season-high 18 blocks for the Stallions (16-7, 11-3 Metro League).

No stats were reported for Wasson (2-20, 0-14).

Air Academy 37, Discovery Canyon 19

At Discovery Canyon: Madison Rasmussen scored 11 points to lead Air Academy (13-10, 10-4) to a victory in a 4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference game.

No stats were reported for Discovery Canyon (10-13, 8-6).