Aspen boys basketball pulls away from Resurrection Christian, semifinals next
Skiers will play either Sterling or Manual on Friday night in Denver
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Much like it has all season, the Aspen High School boys basketball team managed to pull away from the competition on Thursday, beating Resurrection Christian 52-35 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A state tournament inside Hamilton Gymnasium on the University of Denver campus.
The win advances the No. 3-seeded Skiers (25-0 overall) to the state semifinals on Friday night (5:30 p.m. tip), where they will play either No. 2 Sterling or No. 7 Manual. Those two teams will play later Thursday afternoon.
The state championship game is Saturday evening in Denver.
Thursday’s 3A opener, which finished just before noon, was a defensive slugfest early, with AHS taking a 9-7 lead into the second quarter. Late in the first half is when the Skiers started to pull away, a quick five-point spurt from senior Ben Godomsky suddenly putting Aspen up seven and paving the way for a 25-16 halftime lead over the Cougars.
Resurrection Christian’s downfall came in the third quarter, when it was held to only two points. The Cougars finally found some offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, with back-to-back 3-pointers early on pulling them to within 10 with the score at 34-24. But a quick 6-0 answer by the Skiers, including back-to-back buckets by senior Porter Lee, put to rest any comeback talk.
Resurrection Christian finishes the season 19-6 overall. With only one senior in the starting lineup and a freshman as their star player, the Cougars will likely be a championship factor for the next few seasons.
Aspen is seeking its first state championship in boys basketball. AHS hasn’t been this deep into the state tournament since the 2009-10 team reached 26-0 before losing to Faith Christian in the championship game.
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