The madness has begun.
The high school basketball hoops season is well under way, and
while some of the Class 2A and 1A teams in Elbert County fall away
from district tournaments without an appearance in the state
playoffs, others find their way into the big show.
Elbert (1A)
Elbert boys hoops walked away from the Class 1A District 7
tournament with some success after a 49-46 win over Genoa-Hugo in
the quarterfinals. In the semifinals against Stratton, the Bulldogs
lost 54-41, but they came back in the third-place game against Deer
Trail to win 57-47.
Against Genoa-Hugo, Dawson Weber had 16 points for the dogs.
Kyle Brown finished with 10 points and five rebounds. In the
semifinals loss, Travis Hutchens had 13 points. Brown had 11. Craig
Peck had seven rebounds.
In the third-place win, Brown and Hutchens each had 13 points.
Taylor Younger finished with 10. Weber had five rebounds in that
game, and Younger had four steals. With the win, Elbert boys
qualify for the Class 1A state playoffs.
Elbert’s girls team also met with the same success in their
District 7 tournament. The Bulldogs beat Deer Trail 64-40 in the
quarterfinals but lost to Stratton 45-32 in the semifinals. In the
third-place game, Elbert defeated Genoa-Hugo 38-31.
Stewart finished with 22 points against Trail. Miller had 13
against Stratton. No highlights were reported from the third-place
game.
With the win over Genoa-Hugo, Elbert girls qualify for the Class
1A state playoffs.
Kiowa (2A)
In the pigtail round of the Class 2A District 8 tournament,
Kiowa boys put up a 74-63 defeat over Hanover. Against Colorado
Springs School, the Indians lost in the championship quarterfinals
64-33. Kiowa later lost again against Pike Peak Christian 34-30 to
end the Indians’ season.
Against Hanover, Justin Campbell finished with 18 points.
Emmanuel Munoz had 15 points, including two outside buckets. Cody
Campbell put up 12 points. Jordan Gabehart had 11 points, including
two drops from downtown, and Ben Janes finished with 10. Cody
Campbell finished with 10 points in the game against Pikes
Peak.
The Indians girls team had better success in their District 8
tournament. After a bye from the pigtails, Kiowa defeated Colorado
Springs School 59-33 in the quarterfinals. 37-26 was the final
score when the Indians beat Limon in the semifinals to reach the
championship game against Evangelical Christian. Kiowa lost the
district title, however, in a 41-31 loss to Evangelical.
Tiana Yocam finished with 22 points against Colorado Springs
School, including six buckets from beyond the arc. Kelsey Berends
finished with 13 points in that game. Highlights from the
semifinals and finals games were not reported by press time. With
the second-place finish, Kiowa girls earned a place in the Class 2A
state playoffs.
Simla (2A)
In the Class 2A District 8 playoffs, Simla boys hoops started
with a 40-33 final over Vanguard Charter in the pigtail round.
Later, the Cubs lost 73-53 in the championship quarterfinals to
Calhan. In the consolation semifinals, Simla saw the end of their
hoops season on a 56-37 loss to Byers.
Against Vanguard, the Cubs’ Tyler Allen and Chance Mitchell each
finished with 11 points. Dustin Jenkins booked 14 points against
Calhan, including two drops from beyond the arc. Mitchell had
another 11 points in that game. Highlights from the game against
Byers was not reported by press time.
With a bye from the pigtail round, the Simla girls hoops team
defeated Calhan 49-37 in the championship quarterfinals. In the
semifinals, the Cubs took a 54-42 loss against Evangelical
Christian, sending them into the third place game. Simla finished
in fourth place after losing to Limon in their final game of the
tournament 27-23. No highlights were reported from any of Simla’s
district playoff games before press time.
With a fourth-place finish at districts, Simla moves into the
Class 2A state girls hoops playoffs.
