Basketball: Basalt boys sneak into postseason field; Aspen to host regional rounds
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Update: Game times have been added.
Injuries made the regular season a wild ride for the Basalt High School boys basketball team, but one of the toughest schedules in the state helped them get over the hump and snag a spot in the postseason.
As expected, Aspen landed one of the top seeds in Class 4A, while Basalt also made the field when the brackets were announced Sunday via CHSAANow.com.
“We did good. Our strength of schedule saved us. We were playing really good basketball,” BHS coach Clint Hunter said Sunday evening. “We were sitting between like the 16 and 19 seed for quite a while, and then we got all of our injuries. When that happened, we dropped down to about 24 and then 28, and then got some guys back and got up to 26 just in time.”
Basalt (10-13) will be the No. 26 seed and play at No. 7 Sterling (15-8) in the first round on Friday. Tip off is 7 p.m. The other half of the Sterling region includes No. 10 Colorado Academy (14-9) and No. 23 DSST: Montview (13-10), who will play at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The winners of the two games will play each other at 1 p.m. Saturday in the second round, again hosted by Sterling.
Among Sterling’s opponents this season was Aspen. The Skiers won that game, 58-38, on Dec. 14 on a neutral court. AHS swept both contests against Basalt.
“It will be a great matchup for us,” Hunter said of Sterling. “They shoot a whole lot of 3s. Teams like that always worry me. … Hopefully, we can contest shooters and limit them to one-and-done, clean up the boards, and hopefully get the ball in transition a little bit. I think we’ll be able to make our six-hour bus ride to Sterling purposeful.”
Hunter said the team is relatively healthy again, highlighted by the recent return of senior star Elias Schendler, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points as a Longhorn.
Basalt’s final regular-season game was on Friday at home against Steamboat Springs, with both teams sweating it out while on the bubble. Despite losing 63-51, the Sailors still made the 4A tournament as the No. 32 seed (out of 32 teams) and will play at No. 1 Kent Denver in the first round on Friday.
“That was a fun game. In our mind, it was a must-win for both teams,” Hunter said of the Steamboat win. “In my mind, I knew win or lose, we weren’t going to move much seeding wise. It was mostly for our seniors to get another opportunity to compete and get a ‘W’ on our home floor as their last one. It was a special night.”
Basalt enters this postseason with a decent amount of playoff experience. With eight seniors listed on the MaxPreps roster, the Longhorns have players who have battled it out in big games. Last winter, BHS fell in the first round as the No. 31 seed to No. 2 seed Resurrection Christian, a respectful 37-29 loss that was still in doubt late. The Cougars went on to beat No. 1 Kent Denver in the championship game.
The year before, in 2023, No. 30 Basalt lost 56-37 at No. 3 Alamosa in the first round.
“We’ve been to the playoffs basically two years with these guys,” Hunter said. “Not only being in the playoffs two years in a row with these guys, but being in the playoffs facing really good teams and competing how we competed, it just gives them a bunch of confidence.”
Aspen boys to host Pagosa Springs
As the No. 3 overall seed, Aspen (20-3) will take a 14-game win streak into the playoffs and will host No. 30 Pagosa Springs in the first round on Friday. Tip off will be at 7 p.m.
The AHS gymnasium will also host a first-round game between No. 14 Montezuma-Cortez (17-6) and No. 19 Timnath (16-7) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The winner will face the AHS-Pagosa Springs winner in the regional final at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Aspen.
Other notable seeds in the 4A boys bracket include No. 6 Coal Ridge (vs. No. 27 Stargate School) and No. 29 Delta (at No. 4 Prospect Ridge).
Beginning with the Great 8, or quarterfinals, all games will be played at the Denver Coliseum, including the March 15 championship game.
Aspen’s lone state championship came as recently as 2022, when it won the 3A title over Centauri inside the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium. That win capped a perfect 27-0 season. AHS made the move to 4A a year later.
Roaring Fork (17-6) is the No. 15 seed in the boys 3A bracket. The Rams will play No. 18 Denver Christian (10-13) in the first round at 6 p.m. on Friday. That game will be played at regional host and No. 2 seed Windsor Charter Academy, which plays No. 31 Fountain Valley in the first round.
Roaring Fork girls in at No. 9
The Roaring Fork girls will be the No. 9 seed in the 3A tournament. The Rams will play No. 24 Lyons (16-6) in the first round at 3 p.m. Friday, a game played at No. 8 Strasburg (17-6), the regional host. Strasburg plays No. 25 Meeker (11-12) in the first round.
Roaring Fork is 21-2 overall, both losses coming against Cedaredge (23-0). Despite the perfect record, the Bruins are only the No. 4 seed and will host No. 29 Ignacio in the first round.
Resurrection Christian (21-2) is the No. 1 seed in 3A, followed by No. 2 Centauri and No. 3 Denver Christian.
The Aspen girls did not make the postseason field in 3A, finishing 5-18 overall.
In the 4A girls field, University has the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Timnath, and No. 3 Eaton. Delta is No. 6, Moffat County No. 24, and Coal Ridge is No. 29. The Titans will play No. 4 Holy Family in the first round on Friday.
The Basalt girls did not make the postseason field and finish 4-19 overall.
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