For Widefield, finality of it all is hard to grasp

BOULDER - So close.

A 4A boys state title and a lifetime of memories beckoned the Widefield High School boys basketball team.
Widefield's Gladiators led the Lincoln Lancers by three with just under 3 minutes left. The reigning champs were on the ropes.
Widefield just needed a knockout.
The Gladiators never delivered another punch.

For a little more than 29 minutes, Widefield offered inspired, tenacious basketball theater, but it struggled down the stretch. In the end, a spectacular season was marred by a second-rate finish.

Widefield lost, 63-59, ending a 25-game win streak. The Gladiators can tell their kids and their grandkids they almost ruled the state of Colorado.
That will have to be enough. Right now, the Gladiators are stinging, feeling lost after coming so close.
Later, maybe in a couple of months, they'll understand the magnitude of their long ride to the title game.

Senior forward Mel James spoke in a hushed voice after the game. Just around the corner, Lincoln's Lancers were celebrating their triumph.

With a little more than 5 minutes left, Widefield trailed by eight and looked lifeless, but coach Mark Muñoz refused to sink into depression. He clapped his hands, shouted encouragement, commanded his team to believe.
Widefield roared back, with James helping lead the way.
It was as sweet a run as you'll witness in a high school game.
It wasn't easy.

Lincoln is an astonishingly massive basketball team. The Lancers' Eric Carrasco lumbered along the court with a 6-foot-8, 300-pound (or so) frame. Ivan Rangel towered nearly 7 feet.
James, who stands 6-1 (at best), wasn't intimidated.

Twice, he outbattled the giants for critical defensive rebounds and ignited a 13-2 Widefield run that left the Gladiators staring at the title.

"It was just doing the fundamental things," said James, who hit a 3-pointer during the run. "Boxing out, getting those big guys out of the paint."
Widefield senior star Julien McCollum ranked as the player of the game, scoring 27 points.
His fade-away, heavily guarded 3-pointer with 3:11 left tied the score.
But here's the problem. He didn't score again. Lincoln defenders swarmed around him, forcing other Gladiators to shoot.
It happened so quickly. The Lancers squashed Widefield's run and started their own.
Soon, it was the Lancers who were dancing on the court as champs.
Widefield players walked quickly away from the party. Some of the Gladiators pulled jerseys over their eyes to hide their tears.

Lincoln forward Dre Calloway smiled as he thought back to the final 2 minutes when Mc-Collum, who had been dominating, suddenly became virtually invisible.

"It was our will to win," Calloway said. "And we knew we had to stop him to win. They should have been looking for him more, but he wasn't open."

A few minutes after the game, James stood with his teammates in a silent hallway. Coach Muñoz was staring blankly at a wall. The Gladiators were still numb, still trying to understand those final, lethal minutes.
"It just hurts," James said in a steady voice. "Honestly, I think it hurts more because we were right there."
He's right. The title, and a lifetime of memories, was right there.

Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com. Check out David's blog, David Ramsey Says What? at daveramseysez.blogspot.com