4A Playoffs: Second Round Standouts in Defeat

<p>There were 16 games on tap for the second round of the 4A state playoffs. With the entire season on the line, it is about which team comes out and wants it more as records and previous meetings do not matter. There were standout performers on Saturday that tried their best to ensure the victory, but their season came to an end. Here are the team’s best players in defeat.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/griffin-lauritano/">[player_tooltip player_id="916974" first="Griffin" last="Lauritano"]</a> – Evergreen</strong></p> <p>The Qb for the team was also a standout on the hardwood this season as he helped Evergreen get to the playoffs. Once there, he almost helped them pull off an upset as well, but Montrose snuck by with a 48-46 win in overtime. Evergreen’s leading scorer on the season put up a fight in the end. He went out by scoring 18 points in the game. He hit a 3-pointer and got inside, but his work as a glass-cleaner provided easy points for him. Lauritano finished with ten rebounds in the game to complete the double-double, and he gave his team a chance to win.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Blake Hammond – Holy Family</strong></p> <p>Holy Family had the momentum early in the game and looked like they were going to try and take off on Northfield but then gave up a run of their own. A slow second-half ended up being the difference in the game and lost Holy Family the game. Despite the loss, a player that stood out was Junior guard Blake Hammond. Hammond opened things up for Tigers with his outside shot, but he also got inside as well. Northfield kept losing Hammond, and he found holes in the defense to make them pay. Hammond is a high IQ guard that moves without the ball. He slashed and hit a couple of backdoor plays while also getting fouled and became a player that is now on our radar after his 19 point performance.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/javonte-johnson/">[player_tooltip player_id="605549" first="Javonte" last="Johnson"]</a> – Cheyenne Mountain</strong></p> <p>Cheyenne Mountain did not come out and play their normal game, and that is a credit to the game-plan that Lincoln had about defending arguably the best player in the entire state in <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/javonte-johnson/">[player_tooltip player_id="605549" first="Javonte" last="Johnson"]</a>. Johnson had a slow start to the game, and it looked like Lincoln was going to run away with the game, but after the halftime intermission, Johnson started to calm down a bit and look like his usual self. Johnson started to get inside and use his size, and that got him started in other ways. He began to get fouled and finished 11-12 from the free-throw line and also got on the boards to chip away at the hole that Cheyenne Mountain put themselves in. Cheyenne Mountain ended up losing the game, but their best player finished with 22 points in the game and capped off a wonderful career. Johnson’s high school career is up, but not without turning plenty of heads and earning a division I offer as well. Tough loss but a successful season nonetheless.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Colin Westfall – Lewis-Palmer</strong></p> <p>The defending 4A champions fell in the second round of the 4A state playoffs. A second-half collapse put Lewis-Palmer in a hole that they could not overcome. In the loss, one of the Rangers most consistent players on the season still attempted to give his team a chance. Westfall finished with 17 points in the game hitting three 3-pointers and also getting inside. Westfall hit some timely shots to keep Lewis-Palmer around, but in the end, the Rangers ended up falling. Westfal had a solid junior campaign and is now on our radars as a player to watch moving forward.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/owen-koonce/">[player_tooltip player_id="770338" first="Owen" last="Koonce"]</a> –Centaurus</strong></p> <p>Win or lose; it was known that Koonce was going to go out firing, and the entire season would be on his back. While he did not have the type of game that he is capable of as Green Mountain came in with a great game-plan and stuck to it, he still was able to put up big numbers per usual. Koonce finished with a game-high 24 points in the game to finish off his high school career. He went inside and stuck with it despite seeing double teams, and Green Mountain did everything that they could to limit his looks. I expect Koonce to sign to a college soon now that the season is over, and that is something he can focus on, but if not, a few teams will get all that he has in grassroots season. Awesome career for the 6’5 senior.  </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/darius-hornbuckle/">[player_tooltip player_id="915304" first="Darius" last="Hornbuckle"]</a> – Thomas Jefferson</strong></p> <p>TJ was right there. In a back and forth battle between two solid teams in a game that came down to the wire, it was about the team that made fewer mistakes when it all mattered, and that was Silver Creek. Thomas Jefferson was an exciting team this season that had multiple players that stood out, but their best scorer for the past few seasons has been <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/darius-hornbuckle/">[player_tooltip player_id="915304" first="Darius" last="Hornbuckle"]</a>, who finished off his high school career doing what he does best. Letting it fly. Hornbuckle finished with 28 points in the game as he hit six 3-pointers in the game. Hornbuckle is a guard with range that can shoot it from wherever on the court. While some were heat-check shots, others were momentum-changing bombs that he kept throwing up, and it kept the Spartans in the game. I am sure that we will see Hornbuckle during the grassroots season for an unsigned senior team, and he will be putting up more big numbers.</p>