LOUISVILLE — The Raven, one of famed poet Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest works, symbolized the grief that one feels after a significant loss. On Wednesday night at Monarch, 18th-seeded Denver South’s boys basketball team felt the sting of such a defeat, 73-67, when it visited No. 15 Monarch during the first round of the Class 6A state tournament.
Denver South’s own mascot foreshadowed its undoing at the hands of the Coyotes.
Once upon a Wednesday dreary, while they pondered, weak and weary
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten season —
While their offense nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping on the glass,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at their backboard.
“’Tis some Coyotes,” they muttered, “tapping at my season’s closing door — Only this tournament game and nothing more.”
Monarch (19-5) senior forward Van Nellessen was the harbinger of the Ravens’ end. He threw down no less than four alley-oops en route to a 29-point performance, coming alive in the second half to punish Denver South (16-8). A critical block, with 43 seconds left, robbed the Ravens of a chance to tie things up one last time.
He responded with one of those flashy dunks, drawing energy from his brethren in the stands.
“The student section helped a lot. They were super energetic,” Nellessen said. “We really just needed to play hard, play our game of basketball. We knew we would get it done.”
Senior guard Graham Johnson, likewise, found his spark in the second half and proved a menace from behind the arc. He finished his night with 17 points for the Coyotes. Denver South junior Dominic Rhoades-Martinez led his Ravens with 19 points, followed with another 16 from senior Jonathan Trease.
“(Class 6A is) super competitive and, you know, you got to be at your best every day if you really want to compete. Today, we weren’t quite at our best and we dropped one,” Trease said. “It hurts to lose in the first round, any round, and know your season’s over with that.”
While multiple Coyotes and Ravens got on the board in the first half, the opening 16 minutes boiled down to a battle of wills between Nellessen and Rhoades-Martinez. Rhoades-Martinez did a little bit of everything to lead the field early with 15 points, and Nellessen trailed slightly behind with 12.
The Ravens’ biggest advantage lay with their offensive rebounding, which secured them critical second-chance points leading to a 37-32 halftime lead.
The Coyotes spent the better part of the second half playing catchup, but crossed that Rubicon with two minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter. Naturally, a Nellessen block converted into a layup from Logan Laverty to tie things up at 47-47.
The two teams played point-for-point until the final minute. Then the Coyotes pulled away. They ended their regular season with their first Front Range League title in 20 years, and dotted the exclamation point with a thrilling first-round victory in the postseason.
Now, they’ll have to brave No. 2 Mountain Vista when they hit the road for Round 2 on Saturday.
“(Nellessen) didn’t play very well in the first half and then he really brought it, obviously, in the second half. I think they all did. I think they all upped their game,” Monarch head coach Tim DeBerry said. “These guys just came together. That’s awesome. They just decided we’re going to play, become buddies and do all the things that good teams do. This is what happened, so I can’t complain. After 37 years, it’s probably the best team I’ve had.”
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