Saturday's roundup: Last-second shot propels Liberty past Fountain-Fort Carson

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

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Liberty 52, Fountain-Fort Carson 50

At Liberty: After falling to Fountain-Fort Carson twice already, Liberty finally found a way to get past the Pikes Peak 5A No. 1 Trojans in dramatic fashion Saturday night.

Garet Bohuslavsky (eight points) received a pass from brother AJ (six points) and buried a shot with less than 2 seconds remaining to deliver the Lancers (11-7, 4-2) a 5A Metro League victory.

Fountain-Fort Carson (11-7, 5-1) nearly pulled off the comeback after trailing Liberty 33-17 at halftime. The Trojans used a 33-17 run in the second half to tie the game at 50 with 30 seconds remaining when Anthony Davis drilled a 3-pointer.

Yet Liberty was able to run the clock down and set up Garet Bohuslavsky’s game-winner.

Liberty has won four in a row and trails Fountain-Fort Carson by one game for the league lead.

The Trojans had beaten the Lancers 51-47 and 60-48 earlier this season.

No stats were reported for Fountain-Fort Carson.

Vanguard 56, Evangelical Christian Academy 53

At Evangelical Christian Academy: 2A No. 3 The Vanguard School prepared all summer and throughout the offseason for the opportunity to knock off Evangelical Christian Academy for the first time in school history.

Joe Donaldson finally made that wish a reality when he drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired to deliver the Coursers (9-6, 3-2) a last-second victory over 2A Black Forest foe ECA.

“It’s the first time we have beaten a perennial powerhouse, state championship-caliber team like ECA,” coach Joe Wetters said. “It was a big win for the school and the program to overcome the tradition that ECA has.”

The game was tied at 53 with 13 seconds remaining when Wetters called a timeout and drew up the game-winning play.

“I told them we have been preparing to beat this team all summer and all offseason and this is your chance to finally beat ECA on their home gym.”

Donaldson finished with a team-high 23 points, 18 of which came from beyond the arc.

ECA (5-11, 2-3) received a game-high 25 points from Vincent Brackett.

Vanguard had lost the previous six games against ECA by an average of 37.5 points dating back to 2009, including last season’s 56-29 defeat.

It was a special moment for Vanguard and one of its biggest accomplishments in the basketball program’s history.

“What students we did have at the game ran out onto the floor,” Wetters said. “The boys hugged at midcourt and felt quite a sense of accomplishment.”

Peyton 74, Calhan 62

At Calhan: 2A No. 1 Peyton won a showdown featuring the top two 2A teams in the Pikes Peak region by outscoring No. 2 Calhan 24-6 in the third quarter after trailing 32-30 at halftime.

Ethan Abello (25 points) and Jared Watkins (21 points) led the way for Peyton. The Panthers (14-2, 6-0 2A Black Forest League) remain undefeated in league and have a two-game lead for first place. Peyton has won nine straight.

Juston Scott led Calhan (8-5, 4-2) with 17 points. It was Scott’s first double-digit performance since scoring 13 on Jan. 15 in a 71-46 victory over Byers.

The loss snaps Calhan’s three-game winning streak.

Pine Creek 54, Doherty 51

At Pine Creek: David Bray scored 15 points and Pine Creek knocked off 5A No. 3 Doherty at home in a 5A Metro League matchup.

Pine Creek (9-10, 4-2) has won four in a row. Joey Black had a team-high seven rebounds for the Eagles.

No stats were reported for Doherty (11-8, 2-4).

Jim Elliot Christian 81, Hanover 40

At Jim Elliot Christian: Alex Muckleroy had 27 points to lead the home team to victory.

Jim Elliot Christian improved to 10-6.

No stats were reported for Hanover (3-12).

Cotopaxi 64, Cripple Creek-Victor 53

At Cotopaxi: Josh Miller scored 34 points to lead the home team past Cripple Creek-Victor.

Cotopaxi improved to 11-4.

No stats were reported for Cripple Creek-Victor (3-11).

WRESTLING

Coronado wins Cougar Classic

Coronado 56, Douglas County 21; Coronado 61, Pueblo West 12; Coronado 54, Doherty 22

At Coronado: The host team won dual matches over Douglas County, Pueblo West and Doherty to claim the Cougar Classic.

Trent Watson (106), Adrian Cordova (120), Andrew West (152), Grady Pina (160) and Richard Cote (170) earned victories via pin over Douglas County.

The Cougars cruised past Pueblo West, losing only two of 14 matches. Richard Cote pinned Josh Medieros in 1:05 in a 170-pound matchup while Andrew West pinned Joshua Patterson in 2:27 in the 152-pound class.

Coronado’s Devan Cruz notched a decision at 126 pounds against Doherty, while Thaddeus Hayes earned the Spartans a victory in a 138-pound matchup by pinning Steven Rathbun in 1:54.

Doherty’s Ian Havens (152) also picked up a pin against Andrew West.

Doherty 51, Rampart 18

At Coronado: Doherty used a strong team performance to defeat Rampart at the Cougar Classic.

Jonathan Garcia sparked the Spartans with a pin over Josh Peltier in 53 seconds at 113 pounds. Then Doherty’s Logan Hammarmeister (120) and Nathan Gonzales (126) followed with pins of their own over Kaleb Edens and Joseph Rios, respectively.

Havens (152) and Brandon Supernaw (160) also won via pin for Doherty.

Rampart’s Sam McKinley, Cody Roth and Clark Jones won by forfeit.

Pueblo West 42, Doherty 33

At Coronado: Doherty’s Havens pinned Joshua Patterson in 1:52 in a 152-pound match and Supernaw (160) pinned Caleb Smith in 1:51, but the Spartans fell to Pueblo West at the Cougar Classic.

Canon City Tiger Duals

Centauri 49, Canon City 23; Canon City 54, Vista Ridge 21

At Canon City: Garrett Benell pinned RJ Ruybal in 47 seconds in a 220-pound showdown, but the Tigers could not get past Centauri in the Canon City Tiger Duals.

Blake Repshire and Frankie Bethune also picked up decisions for Canon City.

The Tigers received pins from Jake Schipper (120), Ricky Garcia (126) and Garrett Benell (220) to get past Vista Ridge.

Ladarius Stubbs opened the meet with a pin at 113 pounds for Vista Ridge before Canon City won the next four matches.

Girls’ Basketball

Palmer 53, Rampart 38

At Palmer: 5A No. 1 Palmer used Jenn Urbaniak (14 points, four rebounds) and Shanah Leaf (14 points, nine rebounds) to control the low post and defeat No. 2 Rampart in a 5A Metro League game.

The Terrors (17-2, 6-0) raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter and never trailed.

Palmer coach Dave Shackelford said Urbaniak and Leaf helped lead the Terrors to victory while Molly Myers contributed to the win at both ends of the court.  

“They both played well inside and Molly (Myers) played well offensively,” Shackelford said. “She played good defensively and had an overall good game.”

Macy Myers (13 points) and Lucia Archuleta (12 points) combined to score 25 of Rampart’s 38 points.

The Rams fall to 11-8 and 3-3 in league play.

Liberty 56, Fountain-Fort Carson 52

At Fountain-Fort Carson: Pikes Peak 5A No. 3 Liberty held off Amber Perryman and the Trojans in the fourth quarter to earn its first road victory in over a month.

Senior Alex Rivas led the Lancers' (11-7, 3-3 5A Metro) balanced attack with 10 assists in a league game. Liberty received double-digit points from Amanda Dix (11), Chris Brown (10) and Kathryn Kox (10). Brown had a team-high nine rebounds.

Unfortunately for Fountain-Fort Carson, the Trojans (2-16, 0-6) could not capitalize on Perryman’s 27-point performance and lost their ninth straight.

Doherty 56, Pine Creek 35

At Pine Creek: Aiesha Harris went 8-of-13 from the field and finished with a season-high 18 points to deliver Doherty its fifth victory in its last six games.

The Spartans (11-8, 5-1 5A Metro) trailed 9-8 through one quarter before pouring on 16 points in the second to take a 24-18 lead into halftime.

Jordan Nelson and Harris each pulled down six rebounds, while Mariah Willey had six steals.

Doherty trails Palmer by one game for a share of the 5A Metro lead.

No stats were reported for Pine Creek (8-11, 1-5).

Trinidad 42, St. Mary’s 33

At Trinidad: 3A No. 1 St. Mary’s fell to fellow 3A Tri-Peaks East power Trinidad in a conference game.

Chelsea Velasquez led Trinidad (15-2, 10-2) to the victory with a game-high 15 points. The Miners have won five in a row.

Trinidad led 16-14 entering the third quarter and used a 16-9 third to pull away from the Pirates.

Nicole Niles had a team-high 11 points for St. Mary’s (14-2, 10-2) which saw its four-game winning streak snapped.

Peyton 58, Calhan 40

At Calhan: 2A No. 2 Peyton picked up a 2A Black Forest League victory on the road.

Victoria Goodman scored 16 points and Peyton (14-2, 5-1) has won four consecutive games. The sophomore has scored in double digits in six of the last seven games. She is averaging 17 points per game over her last three games. 

No stats were reported for Calhan (8-6, 3-4).

Hockey

Fountain Valley 11, Coronado 3

At World Arena Olympic Rink: Aleksi Pulkkila registered a hat trick and Jakub Myska had a season-high five assists as No. 1 Fountain Valley (13-4, 11-1 Peak Conference) scored 11 goals for the third time this season.

Coronado’s Jared Campbell scored 1:31 into the game to give the Cougars (4-13, 3-9) an early 1-0 lead. However, the lead lasted only 21 seconds before Pulkkila scored his first of the game.

Campbell picked up his second goal of the game in the second period.

The Danes split time in net with Tyler Martin giving up two goals on nine shots and Lucas Huerga Marin stopping 9-of-10 shots.

Ian Paton made 41 saves for Coronado despite the Danes unleashing 52 shots on goal.

Palmer 5, Doherty 4

At World Arena Olympic Rink: Palmer used two third-period, power-play goals to upset No. 2 Doherty 5-4 in a Peak Conference game.

RJ Haenze broke a 4-4 tie with 6:24 remaining when he fired one past Jared Wolf (19 saves) while Palmer (5-10-1, 3-7-1) had the man advantage.

Brandon Driscoll, who also assisted on Haenze’s game-winner, scored his second goal of the game 7:04 into the third to tie the game at 4.

Palmer finished 3-for-5 on the power play.

Alex Gumper picked up the victory in net for Palmer with 31 saves. Doherty (13-5, 9-4) outshot Palmer 35-24.

Doherty’s Dusty Kachel had two goals and an assist.

Valor Christian 7, Pine Creek 4

At Ice Ranch: Noah Cunniff got Pine Creek within 3-2 halfway through the second period, but Valor Christian used four third-period goals to defeat Pine Creek in a Peak Conference game.

Wiley Myrick and Ryan Close finished with two goals each for Valor Christian (12-4-1, 8-3-1), and Grant Verlinde made 14 saves.

Hayden Smith picked up two assists for Pine Creek (7-12, 4-9) and Conor Chemlka finished with 41 saves.