Sweet 16: Guy Gibbs Region Preview

<p>The season is dwindling as we are already in the Sweet 16. There are some excellent matchups with some pretty balanced teams set to play on Wednesday evening. Let’s take a look at the regions and a breakdown of each matchup in the 4A state playoffs. </p> <h2><strong>No.3 Longmont v. No. 19 Widefield</strong></h2> <p>Longmont heads into Wednesday’s game with seven straight victories and in the second-round won by 28. Momentum will be on their side as they will surely pack the house and have a lively crowd as well. In their big win over Palisade defense was their stamp as they held the Bulldogs to only 13 points heading into the fourth quarter. That is smothering defense and not letting up. Offensively, the three players that have been heading the charge all year long is who led the way. Eddie Kurjak led all scorers with 23 points as he was an efficient 10-12 from the field, and he got what he wanted at the rim. Senior forward Dallas Dye was also solid in the win as he finished with 11 points on 5-6 shooting from the field while also handling the big man duties and finishing with seven boards. Senior guard Ryan Schneider also added 11 points and hit a 3-pointer to open things up for the bigs down low. As long as these three are clicking, Longmont always has a chance. The only thing that can slow them down in this matchup will be the battle of the guards as they surely win the big man battle.</p> <p>Widefield has reeled off five straight wins and is coming off of a win over Conifer where the Gladiators got off to a hot start and did not look back from there. Multiple players scored in double figures, and sharing the ball and getting everyone involved ended up being the difference in the game. The player of the game was Senior guard Tim Mewborn. Although Mewborn did not lead the team in scoring, his ability to affect the game in other ways was critical in Widefield’s success. The McDonald’s All American nominee finished with 11 points and dished out eight assists. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id="915311" first="Randall" last="Days"] was a recipient of some of those assists as he finished with a game-high 15 points and nine rebounds and was a bit too physical for the Lobos. Junior guard Anthony Roberts also showed up and showed that he is capable of scoring when called upon. He had 11 points in the game, and him emerging as a player that can also score will go a long way as Longmont will give Mewborn and Days multiple looks. Widefield will have to play a near-perfect game where they make the right plays and take care of the ball but are also physical with Longmont if they plan on coming away with a win.</p> <h2>No. 6 Skyline v. No. 11 The Classical Academy</h2> <p>Seven straight wins for the No.6 team in the region and a 58-48 win over Wheat Ridge has Skyline in the Sweet 16 and ready to advance to the Denver Coliseum. In Skyline’s second-round win senior guard Gage Robertson was sensational. He finished with a season-high 30 points in the game. He hit his 3-pointers and also got inside. Robertson saw something that he liked and attacked it all evening. His teammates took a back seat and fed the hot man but will have to do more if they plan on beating a talented Classical Academy squad. Austin Robison and Adrian Compian will have to get back to their usual selves that are scoring the basketball and applying pressure to the opposing team. Skyline has a solid inside-out attack and will look to put it all together to ensure a victory.</p>