TUESDAY
Boys basketball
Highland 84, Strasburg 71, in Ault: Highland prevailed in this high-scoring affair to advance past the semifinals of the Class 3A Patriot League district tournament. The Huskies trailed slightly, 37-33, at halftime before outscoring Strasburg 51-34 in the second half. Sophomore Sawyer Morgan and senior Colton Steinke scored 17 points apiece for Highland. Morgan also had 14 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The top-seeded Huskies improved to 18-3 overall and take on second-seeded Platte Valley (16-5) in the district championship game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Eaton High School.
Platte Valley 50, Brush 48, in Kersey: Platte Valley secured a nail-biting win in the second round of the 3A Patriot League district tournament. The Broncos trailed 33-20 at halftime before chipping away. They outscored Brush 15-4 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 37-35. They then completed the comeback with a 15-11 run in the fourth quarter. Junior Braylon Edstrom led Platte Valley with 12 points. Senior Max Zenk added nine points, eight rebounds and three steals. Fellow senior Zach Uyemura had 11 points, eight assists and three steals. The Broncos improved to 16-5 and will face Highland (18-3) in the district title game 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Eaton High School.
Frontier Academy 51, Timnath 38, in Greeley: Frontier Academy bounced back from a rough loss in the first round of the 3A Patriot League district tournament with a solid win in the consolations. The fifth-seeded Wolverines improved to 8-13 and will face No. 6 Liberty Common (6-15) in the consolation finals at a to-be-determined time Friday.
Union Colony 79, Poudre Community Academy 27, in Greeley: Union Colony dominated this first round game in the 2A District 4 tournament. The Timberwolves took complete control from the get-go, leading 25-10 after one quarter and 46-19 by halftime. Union Colony, the tournament’s third seed, improved to 10-10 and will take on No. 2 Loveland Classical (12-9) in the semifinals 8 p.m. Friday at Skyline High School in Longmont.
Dayspring Christian 54, Nederland 42, in Nederland: Dayspring snapped a four-game losing streak and picked up a win in the first round of the 2A District 4 tournament. The Eagles shook off a slow start, trailing 13-7 in the first quarter, but outscored Nederland 18-12 in the second quarter to be tied at 25 at halftime. Dayspring went on to outscore the Panthers 29-17 in the second half. The fifth-seeded Eagles improved to 6-14 and will face the district’s top seed, Heritage Christian (14-5), in the district semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Skyline High School in Longmont.
Girls basketball
Platte Valley 59, Highland 44, in Kersey: Platte Valley, the two-time defending 3A champion, controlled this semifinals matchup in the 3A Patriot League district tournament. After leading just 13-12 through one quarter, the Broncos widened their lead to 29-21 through two quarters and 47-30 through three. Platte Valley seniors Bree Bunting and Andi Schissler scored 25 and 23 points, respectively. Bunting added 10 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two steals. Schissler chipped in 11 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists. Sophomore Briza Flores led Highland with 18 points, three assists and two steals. Platte Valley improved to 14-7 and will face Strasburg (13-8) in the district title game at noon Saturday at Eaton High School. The Huskies fell to 13-8 and will face Brush (13-8) in the third-place game at 9 a.m. Saturday in Eaton.
Union Colony 44, Twin Peaks Charter 14, in Greeley: Union Colony dominated its first-round game in the 2A District 4 tournament. The Timberwolves took a 7-0 lead through the first quarter and held Twin Peaks to eight or fewer points in each quarter. Junior Maddy Walter and senior Brooklyn Eskew scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Union Colony. Walter added five steals and four assists. Eskew had eight steals. Freshman Soliana Gebremeskel chipped in seven points, 11 rebounds and seven steals. The Timberwolves improved to 5-13 overall. They will take on crosstown rival Dayspring Christian (15-4) at a to-be-determined time Friday in the district tournament semifinals at Skyline High School in Longmont.
Liberty Common 60, Frontier Academy 21, in Fort Collins: Frontier Academy struggled in all facets in this Patriot League district tournament consolation game. The Wolverines were unable to score more than nine points in a quarter. They trailed 28-4 at halftime. Frontier fell to 4-17 overall. The Wolverines will face Timnath in the tournament’s seventh-place game at 6 p.m. Friday in Timnath.
See Wednesday’s Tribune for 4A and 5A girls basketball state tournament first-round results.
— Bobby Fernandez covers high school sports for the Greeley Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-4478, by email at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com or on Twitter @BobbyDFernandez.
