4A Second Round Preview: Ron Vlasin Region

<p>The first round of the Colorado Class 4A state tournament is in the books and the second round is on tap for Saturday. A total of 16 games will be played, and each of the four teams that received first-round byes in each of the four regions will finally enter the fray.</p> <p>With teams set to play for spots in the Sweet 16, let's take a look at each second-round matchup in the Ron Vlasin Region: </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>No. 1 Lewis-Palmer (23-0) vs. No. 33 Ponderosa (11-13), Saturday, 1 p.m.</strong></p> <p>Consistently tough at the defensive end and on the glass, Ponderosa has proven to be a tough team when the Mustangs are hitting 3-pointers. They hit six in the first half to get past Silver Creek on Wednesday. There might not be any number of 3-pointers that can change the likely outcome of this game, as Lewis-Palmer has been otherworldly dominant this season. The undefeated Rangers beat their 23 regular-season opponents by an average of over 27 points.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>No. 16 The Classical Academy (17-6) vs. No. 17 Greeley Central (15-9), Saturday, 3 p.m.</strong></p> <p>The Classical Academy held its 23 regular-season opponents to an average of 48.9 points. The Titans also have Kade Walker, who is averaging 19.2 points and 7 rebounds a night, and can change the game in a number of ways. Greeley Central, on the other hand, spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 and has a pair of slashing guards in Jackson Hayslip (20.9 ppg) and Spencer Conway (13.1 ppg, 4.4 apg) who can create havoc and open things up for the rest of the squad.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>No. 8 Wheat Ridge (19-4) vs. No. 25 Thomas Jefferson (14-10), Saturday, 7 p.m.</strong></p> <p>It’s been a great season for Wheat Ridge. The Farmers ended a 12-year drought without a league title, winning the 4A Jeffco championship. They have four players – Julian Claussen (14.5 ppg), Blair McVicker (12.1), Dominic Bronk (11.4) and Alex Morales (10.6) – scoring in double figures. The Farmers will need all of those guys playing well to get by the Thomas Jefferson Spartans, who are better than their seed would indicate and have a pair of intimidating brothers Logan Cecil (6-9) and Ryan Cecil (6-7) to back up leading scorer Darius Hornbuckle (14.4 ppg).</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>No. 9 Centaurus (16-7) vs. No. 41 Eagle Valley (9-13), Saturday, TBA</strong></p> <p>The Centaurus Warriors are smack in the middle of the best season they’ve had in a long, long time. The have a newly-remodeled gym and it will be rocking when they host their first playoff game in recent memory. Junior Owen Koonce (18.1 ppg) is one of the fastest stock-risers in the state and senior Nick Vaver (11.6) and Nate Totel (11.6) cannot be taken lightly. Eagle Valley comes over from the Western Slope and will need a big night from Jacob Medina (14.1 ppg) and crew to bag this upset.</p>