News - Local
Southern Colorado showdown ahead for 4A boys basketball title
Posted: Mar 12, 2010 7:46 PM
Updated: Mar 12, 2010 7:46 PM
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Chris Fielder scored 18 points and Jahmall Fountain added 16 as Sierra withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally Thursday to beat Colorado Springs Metro League rival Lewis-Palmer 64-52 in the boys Class 4A state semifinals.
Leading by 19 points (52-33) with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, top-seeded and defending state champion Sierra (25-2) appeared to have the game in hand. But second-seeded Lewis Palmer (21-6) never gave up, going on a 13-0 run that ended with Jordan Ververs' steal and basket, closing the Rangers within 52-46 with 5:57 left in the game. It got as close as 53-48 before Sierra returned to its dominating defense and quick offensive attack to build a comfortable lead down the stretch.
In Thursday's other semifinal, Mike Fabrizio scored 18 points to lead the Pueblo East Eagles to a 59-52 victory over the Longmont Trojans in the boys Class 4A state semifinals.
Pueblo East (25-1), the No. 1 seed from the South Central League, will play defending champion Sierra for the Class 4A crown on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. at CU's Coors Events Center.
The Eagles, which have not made an appearance in the state championship since 1978, led 28-25 at the break and didn't trail the rest of the way. Their biggest lead was 11 points, 41-30 with1:44 to play in the third quarter, and Longmont could come no closer than 5 points, 50-45, with 5:01 left in the game.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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