Manitou Springs puts scare into 3A boys' 2nd seed before losing

FORT COLLINS – A pair of lapses spoiled a valiant effort by Manitou Springs on Thursday afternoon at Moby Arena.

Trailing second-seeded Aspen by only three points in the third quarter, the Mustangs went scoreless for almost 4 minutes. While the Skiers also failed to convert during that stretch, No. 10 Manitou Springs couldn’t recover from blowing the golden opportunity and eventually lost the Class 3A quarterfinal 50-44.

“We got some stops, but we just couldn’t get a bucket,” coach Ken Vecchio said. “We played as hard as we can play, and I can’t ask for more effort than that.”

That kind of effort kept the Mustangs close throughout and delivered a scare to undefeated Aspen.

“It was frustrating for much of the night because they battled us real hard,” said Andrew Papenfus, who scored a game-high 23 points for the Skiers. “They took away the middle in their zone defense and made us rely on perimeter shooting.”

The strategy worked for the most part, but Aspen (26-0) managed to seize momentum with a 15-3 run in the second quarter.

“We collapsed for about a minute, and we gave up easy baskets off turnovers,” said Stevie Davis, who paced Manitou Springs with 11 points. “We had some people step up today and play really well, and we had our chances.”

The Mustangs (19-6) continued to have chances because the Skiers couldn’t put the game away at the free-throw line. Aspen went 9-for-25 from the line, including several misses late.

“Free throws have been our Achilles’ heel all year,” coach Steve Ketchum said. “But we responded well and Andrew is one of the best players in the state.”

Aspen moves on to play Buena Vista in Friday’s semifinals. Manitou Springs will take on Peak to Peak in the consolation bracket.

“These kids have a lot of character, and they will come back tomorrow and play hard again,” Vecchio said.