By Juan Arellano
Special to Colorado Community Media
Despite the frigid temperatures in late February, Fort Lupton and Peak to Peak fans showed up at Fort Lupton High School to support their teams in the first round of the 4A state boys basketball tournament.
The 14th-seeded Bluedevils wanted to continue their amazing season, but in their way stood the 19th-seeded Peak to Peak Pumas.
“We were playing catch-up from the very beginning, and we haven’t had to do that all year,” said Fort Lupton Head Coach Jim Roedel.
Peak to Peak opened up the scoring with a three-pointer from junior Grant Boonstra, but senior Jesus Vasquez responded with his own from beyond the arc to tie it up. Early three-point shooting helped set the tempo of the game for the visiting Pumas, who led most of the game.
The only occasion that the Bluedevils were ahead in the game came in the second quarter. FLHS went up 18-17 with 4:10 to go before the break, but Peak to Peak quickly caught up and never looked back.
“We struggled in the first half, couldn’t really find our rhythm. We got taken out of our transition game too early. It put added pressure on open shots that we would normally have made, and that added pressure from playing from behind most of the game kind of wore on us,” Roedel said.
The Bluedevils battled until the end but it was not enough as they lost 61-52. Two seniors who were the base of the teams, Jesus Vasquez and Joey Gallegos, saw their last minutes wearing the white and blue in their home court.
“They’re the foundational rocks that have been with me for four years. Think about it. These kids have experienced COVID, they’ve experienced different things in their lives that they won’t experience ever again. They will never experience a basketball team that has 20 wins. We had a core group of those two seniors with Jesus and Joey really stepped up as leaders for me this year and were able to help those young kids,” Roedel said.
Finishing the season at 20-4, winning league in an undefeated fashion and hosting a first-round playoff game in many years are accomplishments that Roedel and his team are proud of.
“Pretty much that’s what I told the boys, ‘be proud of the accomplishments you had. It’s not how you want to end. But honestly, 31 teams are going to feel the same way we did tonight. There’s only one champion.’ Did we expect to go on the first round? No. But it’s a learning lesson for the younger guys to get better and know what it takes to get over the first hump,” Roedel said.
