The quarterfinals of the Colorado high school basketball state tournaments for Classes 4A-6A take place Thursday through Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.

Tournament info: Tournament brackets and results | 6A preview capsules | Scoring record controversy

Updates

That’s a wrap: One days, 8 games down. Two days, 16 more games to go. With today’s results, here’s how the Final 4 shapes up in Class 6A set for next week at Denver Coliseum:

Boys

No. 8 Eaglecrest (19-7) vs. No. 4 ThunderRidge (21-5), TBA March 8

No. 6 Valor Christian (24-2) vs. No. 7 Smoky Hills (20-6), TBA March 8

Girls

No. 1 Cherokee Trail (24-2) vs. No. 4 Valor Christian (21-4), TBA March 7

No. 3 Legend (24-2) vs. No. 7 Regis Jesuit (19-7), TBA March 7

Class 6A boys final: No. 7 Smoky Hill 63, No. 2 Mountain Vista 62

In a back-and-forth game that featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties, it was only fitting that the last team with the ball ended up winning.

Given just 4.7 seconds to go the length of the court down one, the Smoky Hill Buffaloes did just that. Point guard Lorenzo Contreras took a bouncing inbound pass up court, fed a trailing Carter Basquez at midcourt and the Smoky sophomore zig-zagged around three defenders before banking in a running one-hander off glass at the buzzer — setting off pandemonium inside Denver Coliseum.

The end result: A 63-32 Smoky Hill win, a trip to the Class 6A Final Four and a spot in the pantheon of all-time Great 8 showdowns.

“We wanted to get something going downhill, not a half-court shot, we wanted to get something downhill with momentum going towards the rim and give ourselves a chance to A) make the shot and B) a chance to get fouled,” Smoky Hill coach Anthony Hardin said.

Thanks to Basquez (17 points) sinking his runner at a sharp angle, Plan A ended up being the winner.

The miraculous shot erased an equally spectacular play on the other end right before it, when MV’s Jacob Hoefs fed a streaking Oliver Junker across the lane for an and-one layin that gave the Golden Eagles (21-5) a 62-61 lead after Junker sank the freebie.

Junker finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Hoefs had 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to make up for an off night for leading scorer Cal Baskind.

Kaylan Graham led the Buffaloes (22-4) with 19 points and five rebounds, with 12 of those points helping give Smoky a 33-28 halftime lead. Insanity ensued after that, with the lead changing hands six times in the third quarter alone. A tense fourth quarter then produced 8.8 seconds of basketball few inside the Coliseum will ever forget as the lead changed hands two more times and ended with Basquez mobbed by his teammates.

“The last three days of practice we’ve concluded practice with our end-of-game situation drills,” Hardin said.

“You get two excellent basketball teams like Mountain Vista, hell of a team, hell of a coach, a standard program in Colorado, and we know it’s going to be a war and we know it’s going to come down to one play. So we wanted to make sure that play was going to be in our favor and give ourselves an opportunity to win.”

Now, for the first time in Hardin’s nine years as Smoky head coach, the Buffs are headed to the Final Four.

10:11 p.m.: PANDEMONIUM!!!! After Jacob Hoefs finds a cutting Oliver Junker as he’s falling out of bounds for an and-one layin with 4.7 seconds left to take a 62-61 lead, Smoky Hill (20-6) goes the length of the floor, with Carter Basquez finishing off glass at the buzzer to secure a 63-62 win. What. A. Game. And what a heartbreaker for Mountain Vista (21-5), which was seconds away from a second straight trip to the Final Four. — Matt Schubert

10:09 p.m.: Mountain Vista gets one last chance with the ball and 8.8 seconds left. Smoky leads 61-59.

10:04 p.m.: Smoky answers out of a timeout as Kaylan Graham takes a Lorenzo Contreras feed and busts the Mountain Vista zone with a finger-roll layin. Cal Baskind’s layup rims out on the other end and now the Buffs sink 1 of 2 at the free throw line to take a 61-59 lead with 49.4 seconds to go. — Matt Schubert

10:02 p.m.: Jacob Hoefs hits a corner 3-pointer and feeds Oliver Junker with a lob for a lay-in and 59-58 Mountain Vista lead with 1:35 to go. This one is going down to the wire. — Matt Schubert

9:55 p.m.: Smoky lands the first blow to begin the fourth quarter, with Lorenzo Contreras’ and-one floater giving the Buffs a 56-61 lead with 6:33 left. Mountain Vista got one free throw and now trails 56-52 with 4:40 left. — Matt Schubert

9:48 p.m.: Smoky and Mountain Vista are trading haymakers now. A back-and-forth third quarter ended in a 51-all tie after the lead changed hands six times with six ties and all sorts of offensive fireworks. Buckle up, folks. The fourth quarter could be an all-timer. — Matt Schubert

9:35 p.m.:  Mountain Vista briefly takes the lead with three straight baskets to open the third quarter, but Carter Basquez answers with an elbow jumper on the other end. Smoky leads 35-34 with 6:03 to play. — Matt Schubert

9:22 p.m.: Smoky Hill will take a 33-28 lead into halftime, thanks in large part to the exploits of junior guard Kaylan Graham, who has a game-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Mountain Vista shook off a 20-10 first-quarter deficit and is right back in this with points from seven different players. — Matt Schubert

9:18 p.m.: Back and forth we go. What was once a 10-point Smoky Hill lead now sits at 29-24 with 1:58 left in the second quarter. Mountain Vista took a punch and delivered one right back. — Matt Schubert

Class 6A girls: No. 7 Regis Jesuit 50, No. 2 Cherry Creek 44

In a game where offense was often hard to come by, Coryn Watts came to the rescue.

The senior guard converted a critical four-point play to give Regis Jesuit a seven-point cushion late in the third quarter, then put things away with an and-one layup with 1:33 left, as the Raiders held on to beat Cherry Creek, 50-44, and advance to the Final Four.

Watts finished with a game-high 17 points, as Regis (19-7) outlasted a second-seeded Bruins (21-5) team missing its leading scorer, Tianna Chambers. The junior guard watched the game from the bench, wearing a large brace after suffering a knee injury in the first round of the playoffs.

Hana Belibi added 11 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks for the Raiders, who will face No. 3 Legend on March 7 inside Denver Coliseum.

Sophomore Addison Beck led the Bruins with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but Creek’s 18 turnovers ended up being too much to overcome. — Matt Schubert

8:28 p.m.: Addison Beck’s pull-up mid-range jumper brings Cherry Creek to within 46-39 with 2:52 left. Regis will likely have to earn this one at the free throw line. — Matt Schubert

8:22 p.m.: Regis continues to hold Cherry Creek at arm’s length. It’s 43-35 Raiders with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter. — Matt Schubert

8:16 p.m.: The Raiders’ lead has grown to 10, with Coryn Watts and Mallory Neff scoring on back-to-back possessions. With 6:42 to go, Regis is in control up 41-31. — Matt Schubert

8:12 p.m.: Regis will take a 37-29 lead into the fourth quarter. Cherry Creek just cannot finish around the basket on Hana Belibi and company. The Bruins are shooting 30.6% from the field and are clearly missing Tianna Chambers’ offense. — Matt Schubert

8:07 p.m.: Coryn Watts drains a 3-pointer and is fouled, then makes the free throw to complete a four-point play and give Regis a 34-27 lead with 1:34 left in the third quarter. Cherry Creek desperately needs to find some offense. — Matt Schubert

8:04 p.m.: Regis took its biggest lead of the game, 29-23, on Mallory Neff’s layup with 5:25 left in the third quarter, but Braelynn Barnett is trying to will the Bruins to victory. After a basket and two free throws, it’s 29-27, Regis, with 2:06 left in the third quarter. — Matt Schubert

7:43 p.m.: We’ve got a tight one at the half. Regis surged ahead in the final two minutes of the second quarter to take a 20-18 lead into the break on Mallory Neff’s 3-pointer. Cherry Creek’s Addison Beck leads all scorers with seven points. Both teams are locked in defensively. — Matt Schubert

7:31 p.m.: The Bruins may be without their leading scorer, Tianna Chambers, who’s sitting on the bench wearing a large knee brace, but that hasn’t mattered so far. Cherry Creek leads 13-12 with 6:32 left in the second quarter. — Matt Schubert

Class 6A boys final: No. 8 Eaglecrest 61, No. 1 Fruita Monument 53

With Jhett Wells charging down the court and a one-possession game in his sights with less than 90 seconds left, all that stood between the Fruita Monument sophomore and the basket was SirDevin Roberts.

The one thing going through the Eaglecrest senior’s mind: Don’t jump.

“I knew he was going to try to make me jump, so I had to stay disciplined and I stayed down and just got the steal,” Roberts said. “I just knew I had to lock in.”

Roberts did just that, ripping the ball away from Wells and sending it the other way to a streaking Garrett Barger (18 points, 14 rebounds) for a two-handed slam and six-point lead that proved enough to secure a 61-53 win and their first Final Four bid since 2017. Next up is No. 4 ThunderRidge on March 8.

The failed fast-break was one of two shots the previously unbeaten Wildcats (25-1) had directly in front of the hoop to pull within two after being down as many 20 in the third quarter. They converted neither, and also shot just 6 of 15 from the free throw line, as their first loss also ended up being their last game.

Junior point guard LaDavian King (15 points, five assists) was instrumental in pushing the Raptors (19-7) out to their early lead, with one of his five assists finding Kris Coleman for a corner 3-pointer that put them ahead 38-18 early in the third quarter. The Raptors held on for dear life after that, with Fruita getting as close as three with 4:25 left on the last of Max Orchard’s 12 points. Daniel Thomason added 18 points, nine rebounds and two tomahawk dunks for Fruita, while Wells finished with 14 points. — Matt Schubert

6:58 p.m.: Ballgame. All credit to Fruita Monument, which came all the way back from 20 down to make this a game. But missed free-throws and missed opportunities at the rim ended up costing them. Eaglecrest (19-7) is on to the Final Four, and the previously unbeaten Wildcats (25-1) are headed back to the Western Slope. — Matt Schubert

6:50 p.m.: Fruita Monument had two shots at pulling within two, both right at the basket. Zero points, with SirDevin Roberts ripping the ball away from Jhett Wells at the cup on the second one, then sending it the other way to a streaking Garrett Barger for a two-handed dunk. That’s likely ballgame folks. 57-51 Eaglecrest with a minute to go. — Matt Schubert

6:48 p.m.: Crunch time. Eaglecrest leads 55-51, but the Raptors are wobbling. Fruita has the ball with 1:48 to go. If the Wildcats just hit their free throws, this is their game. — Matt Schubert

6:39 p.m.: We’ve got a game folks. Fruita Monument, down by as many as 20 in the third quarter, is now within seven at 53-46 with 5:31 to play after Max Orchard’s fast-break putback. — Matt Schubert

6:35 p.m.: Fruita Monument has come roaring back, with their zone defense leading to several fast-break buckets the other way, including yet another tomahawk slam from Daniel Thomason (14 points). If the Wildcats could hit their free throws (3 of 10), this would be a tight ballgame. Instead, Eaglecrest has Fruita at arm’s length going into the final quarter, 50-38. — Matt Schubert

6:26 p.m.: Fruita Monument’s Jhett Wells just picked up his fourth foul and we haven’t even hit the four-minute mark of the third quarter. Coming after back-to-back Wells 3s, the timing couldn’t be much worse. Eaglecrest leads 41-28 with 4:13 to go. — Matt Schubert

6:23 p.m.: The quarter began with Daniel Thomason missing an alley-oop dunk, and it hasn’t gotten much better since. It’s 38-20 Eaglecrest, and the Raptors are on control. — Matt Schubert

6:08 p.m.: Daniel Thomason cocked one back for tomahawk slam that briefly brought the Fruita Monument crowd to its feet, but the highlights were few and far between for the Wildcats. It’s 33-18 Eaglecrest at halftime, with LaDavian King at eight points and Jason Noone and Garrett Barger with six points apiece. Thomason leads the Wildcats with eight, but it’s looking like their first loss of the season will also be their last game. — Matt Schubert

6:04 p.m.: After scoring on three of its first four possessions, the Fruita Monument offense has gone ice cold. The Wildcats have just three baskets since the 6:10 mark of the first quarter. What was once a 7-6 Wildcats lead has ballooned to 28-14 with three minutes left in the second quarter. — Matt Schubert

5:54 p.m.: LaDavian King is ready for the Coliseum. Eight minutes in, the Eaglecrest junior point guard is a one-man wrecking crew in the first quarter, knocking down a pair of 3s from each corner and dishing two assists to give the Raptors a 17-11 lead. A 10-0 run in the middle of the frame turned a one-point deficit into a 16-7 lead for the Raptors.  — Matt Schubert

Class 6A girls final: No. 1 Cherokee Trail 47, No. 9 Mullen 39

The Cougars put it all together down the stretch, outscoring upset-minded Mullen 8-0 in the final 90 seconds to secure a berth in the Final Four. Junior Delainey Miller led the way with 19 points and junior Maddy Gibbs scored 11, including a huge 3-pointer late in fourth quarter.

Cherokee Trail (24-2) now faces No. 4 Valor Christian (21-4) in next week’s semifinals.

“We have been dying to get here and now we’re here,” Mustangs coach Tammi Statewright said. “Now we’ve proven that we belong.”

Cherokee Trail beat the Mustangs twice earlier this season by a combined margin of 32 points, but the Mustangs came out in a zone defense Thursday and that confounded Cherokee Trail early in the game. Mullen led 24-19 at halftime.

The top-seeded Mustangs never panicked.

“I told them, ‘Stay true to us,’ ” Statewright said. “That’s what we did.”

The Cougars’ tenacious full-court defense in the third quarter swung the game in their favor.

“We didn’t press them in the first two games and I don’t know why we didn’t,” Statewright said. “This time, we decided to put some pressure on their guards and make it difficult to get the ball into the post.”

Allison Schwertner led Mullen with 10 points. The Mustangs’ season ended with a 17-9 record. — Patrick Saunders

5:14 p.m: Cherokee Trail gets a huge 3-pointer from Maddy Gibbs (11 points) and a driving layup by Aaliyah Brodus to take a 41-36 lead with 2 minutes left. — Patrick Saunders  

5:08 p.m.: Not so fast! Mullen is back in this topsy-turvy game. Allison Schwertner’s fastbreak layup cuts Cherokee Trail’s lead to 36-34 with 3:50 remaining. — Patrick Saunders 

5:00 p.m.: The Cougars are pulling away and own a 34-27 lead entering the fourth quarter. They outscored Mullen 15-3 in the third period.  — Patrick Saunders  

4:53 p.m.: Time out, Mullen. The Mustangs’ lead is gone as the Cougars use a full-court trap to smother Mullens’ offense. CT leads 27-26 with 3:44 left in the third. — Patrick Saunders

4:50 p.m.: Cherokee Trail has turned up its defense and has cut Mullen’s lead to 26-23 midway through the third quarter. — Patrick Saunders 

4:33 p.m.: Is there is an upset brewing in the Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum? In a well-played first half, Mullen has taken a 24-19 halftime lead over the top-seeded Cougars.

Senior post player Allison Schwertner leads the Mustangs with eight points and also has nine rebounds.

Mullen arrived at the Coliseum jazzed by its 49-45 upset of two-time defending 6A champion Grandview — a game that saw the freshman Makenzie Jones make a star turn with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 5-of-8 shooting.

Cherokee Trail made just one 3-pointer in 11 attempts in the first half. — Patrick Saunders

Class 6A boys final: No. 6 Valor Christian 66, No. 3 Chaparral 46

Get prepped for a double-dose of Valor Christian hoops in next week’s Class 6A Final Four.

After the Eagles’ girls ran over Rock Canyon in their Great 8 game, the boys soundly beat Chaparral, 66-46, behind tight defense and a stellar performance by Ryan Dixon.

The senior forward led the Eagles with 23 points on 8 of 8 from the field, 1 of 1 from three and 6 of 7 from the line. Meanwhile, senior point guard Cole Scherer added 19 points and senior guard Eli Kim chipped in 13 points.

“I got two fouls early in the first quarter, and my coach (Jeff Platt) let me sit, and just my rest and ready for the second half,” Dixon said. “We brought it today. So did I.”

Valor Christian, the Class 4A champion in 2017, is now two wins from the program’s first championship in the state’s largest classification. The Eagles take on the winner of Thursday’s nightcap in Denver, Smoky Hill vs Mountain Vista, in the Final Four.

Both teams started sluggish, with the Eagles holding a 10-8 lead after the first quarter. The offense didn’t pick up much in the second frame, with Valor Christian taking a 20-15 lead into half.

Valor Christian, the Class 6A Jeffco League champions, started to find a groove in the third quarter behind the play of Dixon in the post.

Chaparral finished with two scorers in double digits, as senior Gavin Carter had 19 and freshman sensation Christian Williams had 16. But that wasn’t near enough, especially after Valor Christian slowed the pace down in the final frame and got a few momentum-swinging buckets from Scherer.

“We’re a great defensive team, and we take pride in that,” Dixon said. “That helped us get the lead, and they were tired. We didn’t get tired.”

Free throws ended up a big difference in the game, as Valor Christian was 21 of 23 from the stripe while Chaparral was 11 of 25. Second-chance points also proved critical, as the Eagles held an 11-3 advantage in that stat.

— Kyle Newman

Class 6A girls final: No. 2 Valor Christian 61, No. 12 Rock Canyon 43

Valor (21-5) used stifling first-quarter defense and excellent ball movement and passing in the second to pull away early and dominate the Jaguars. The Eagles, led by sophomore forward Camryn Gunter’s 18 points, are headed to the Final Four for the fourth time in five years.

In next week’s Final Four, Valor will face the winner of Thursday afternoon’s game between No. 1 Cherokee Trail (23-2) and No. 9 Mullen (17-8).

One blemish for Valor Thursday was an ugly third quarter in which it was outscored 13-8.

“Yeah, that third was kind of sloppy, but I think that was a good experience for us because of what we’re going through here (at the Denver Coliseum), because it’s not the same as at our own gym where we’re so comfortable,” said sophomore point guard Quinn VanSickle, who scored 11 points despite shooting just 2 of 15 from the field. “I’m happy with our performance but I’m not satisfied. We’re hungry for more.”

Valor’s defense set the tone early, forcing Rock Canyon into 10 turnovers in the first half to take a 40-17 lead into the locker room.

“Our goal is to be dogs on defense,” VanSickle said. “I think we did a great job of that today.”

Moving forward, it would behoove the Eagles to shoot better, especially from beyond the arc. They shot just 22.7% (5 of 22) on 3-pointers.

Valor was upset by Arapahoe in the Great 8 last year but VanSickle said that was not on the Eagles’ minds Thursday.

“This is a new year, a new team and a new culture,” she said.

Rock Canyon was led by guard Alyssa Goode’s 13 points.

— Patrick Saunders  

1:20 p.m.: Valor lost to Arapahoe in a Great 8 upset last year but there is no upset brewing this time around. The Eagles lead Rock Canyon, 48-33, with 5 minutes left in the game. The Eagles are looking to advance to the Class 6A Final Four for the fourth time in five years. — Patrick Saunders

1:14 p.m.: Valor is one quarter away from the Final Four. The Eagles didn’t play well in the third quarter but they still lead Rock Canyon, 48-29, heading into the fourth. — Patrick Saunders  

1:03 p.m.: The game has gotten sloppy and Valor, looking out of synch, calls time out as RC cuts the lead to 42-25 with 4 minutes left in the third. Eagles have just one field goal in the quarter.  — Patrick Saunders 

12:45: No. 2 Valor is dominating No. 5 Rock Canyon in every way at the half. The Eagles, shooting 43.8%, lead the Jaguars (29.4%) 40-17. Alyssa Goode is trying to keep Rock Canyon in the game, she has six points and has drained two of her three 3-pointers. Valor has outrebounded RC, 18-6. — Patrick Saunders

12:40 p.m.: Valor’s defense has the Jaguars into 10 turnovers and the game has the looks of a blowout. Camryn Gunter leads the Eagles with 12 points. Valor 33,  Rock Canyon 15, with 1:41 left in the second quarter.  — Patrick Saunders  

12:25: No. 2 Valor Christian dominated No. 12 Rock Canyon in the early going, taking an 18-10 lead after one quarter. The Eagles forced four turnovers and junior point guard Quinn VanSickle scored six points and set the tone. — Patrick Saunders

Class 6A boys final: No. 4 ThunderRidge 62, No. 5 Rock Canyon 60 (OT). 

Andrew Crawford’s beautiful assist to a streaking Tommy Wight in the lane was the game-winning bucket with five seconds left, as Wight laid in the lay-up. Wight finished with a game-high 20 points, while Crawford had 17. Hudson Ellwood led Rock Canyon with 15 points. — Kyle Newman

11:47 a.m.: Free basketball! ThunderRidge and Rock Canyon are headed to overtime after a furious finish to regulation. The Jaguars were down six points to start the fourth, but clawed back. Rock Canyon freshman Jacob David hit a big three with 26 seconds left to pull the Jaguars within two before Grizzlies star senior Andrew Crawford went to the line and sunk one of two free throws. Then, Rock Canyon junior Kasen Lehman was fouled on a three-point attempt with 5.9 seconds left, and sunk all three from the stripe to tie the game at 53-53. — Kyle Newman

11:31 a.m.: Hang onto your hats. With 2:22 to play, ThunderRidge has a 50-45 lead. Seniors Andrew Crawford and Tommy Wight are pacing the Grizzlies with 12 points apiece. — Kyle Newman

10:52 a.m.: Neither ThunderRidge nor Rock Canyon continues to budge as the teams head into the half tied 24-24. Rock Canyon senior point guard Hudson Ellwood leads all scorers with 11 points. The Jaguars won a thriller in Continental League action, 48-44 on Jan. 26, and this game will also probably come down to the wire. — Kyle Newman

10:39 a.m.: After a back-and-forth first quarter, ThunderRidge takes the lead on a late bucket at the buzzer of the frame to go up 15-13. Both student sections came out in full force for the game, the Grizzlies’ faithful in a western theme and the Canyon Crazies in a whiteout. This has all the early makings of a nail-biter. — Kyle Newman

Class 6A girls final: No. 3 Legend 62, No. 6 Horizon 35.

The Titans use a big second half, and a team-high 13 points by junior guard Maley Wilhelm, to cruise into their first Final Four. They get the winner of Cherry Creek vs Regis Jesuit, whom Legend beat in the Continental League championship. — Kyle Newman

9:21 a.m. The Hawks roar back in the second quarter, pushing the tempo, getting some threes to drop and capitalizing on a few sloppy Legend possessions to get back into the game. The Titans, who are making their first Great 8 appearance, have a 24-16 lead at the half. Both teams have balanced scoring as one player has yet to take over the stat sheet. — Kyle Newman

9:04 a.m.: Horizon got the full Denver Coliseum experience in the first quarter, failing to score a field goal as Legend finished the frame up 11-2. The Hawks’ lone points came via a pair of free throws by senior Morgan Ives. Legend is threatening to make this game a quick blowout. — Kyle Newman

8:40 a.m.: We’re about to tip things off here at venerable Denver Coliseum. Three days, 24 games and untold number of highlights begins with No. 6 Horizon taking on No. 3 Legend in the Class 6A girls quarterfinals. Here’s guessing it’ll be a hoot. — Matt Schubert

Schedule and results

Class 6A boys

No. 4 ThunderRidge 62, No. 5 Rock Canyon 60, OT
No. 6 Valor Christian 66, No. 3 Chaparral 46
No. 8 Eaglecrest 61, No. 1 Fruita Monument 53
No. 2 Mountain Vista (21-4) vs. No. 7 Smoky Hill (19-6), 8:30 p.m.

Class 6A girls

No. 3 Legend 62, No. 6 Horizon 35
No. 2 Valor Christian 61, No. 12 Rock Canyon 43
No. 1 Cherokee Trail 47, No. 9 Mullen 39
No. 7 Regis Jesuit 50, No. 2 Cherry Creek 44

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