LONGHORNS LOSE HEARTBREAKING GREAT 8 GAME
STATE 3A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Boys
Denver—The magical 2016-17 season for the Basalt Longhorns came to end last night at the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium. The 9th seeded Longhorns, led by Western Slope League Player of the Year Michael Glen’s 31 points, had the Kent Denver Sun Devils on their heels most of the night. Going into the 4th quarter, Basalt’s 10 point lead slowly vanished as the top seeded Sun Devils came from behind to win a thriller, 56-54. Basalt finished the season with a stellar 21-4 record. It was Basalt’s first trip to the Great 8 since 1989. Kent Denver (22-3) will take on number 13 Faith Christian tonight in a semifinal game. The winner will face either Colorado Springs Christian or Sterling in Saturday’s state championship game at 6 pm.
MLB/ROCKIES
Bad news for Rockies pitcher
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Colorado Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis is taking a break from baseball to undergo chemotherapy after discovering that his testicular cancer has spread. The Rockies said Bettis, who had a testicle removed Nov. 29, would undergo cancer treatment “over the next several weeks” in Arizona. There is no timetable for his return.
Bettis said his oncologist found inflamed lymph nodes during a routine checkup last week and a biopsy showed “that my testicular cancer has unexpectedly spread, and I will begin a regimen of chemotherapy in the very near future.” Bettis said that while his blood tumor markers remain normal, “it’s clear that I need to be aggressive in my fight against this illness. Without being proactive, we wouldn’t have caught this. I am committed to beating this cancer.” Bettis, who turns 28 next month, was expected to be at or near the top of the Rockies’ rotation this season after going 14-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 32 starts in 2016, his first full season as a starter.
AVS WIN
DENVER (AP) – Francois Beauchemin scored with 1:14 left in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche handed the New Jersey Devils their ninth straight loss with a 3-2 victory on Thursday night. Nathan MacKinnon and Rene Bourque also scored for Colorado, and Calvin Pickard had 25 saves. The Avalanche picked up their second straight win for just the fourth time this season.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
MOUNTAIN WEST
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Gian Clavell hit six 3-pointers and scored 30 points to help lead Number 2 seed Colorado State to an 81-55 drubbing of tenth-seeded Air Force in the Mountain West quarterfinals Thursday night. It is the fifth time in six years the Rams (22-10) have made the conference semifinals. Prentiss Nixon finished with 15 points and Emmanuel Omogbo added 12 for the Rams, who shot 48.4 percent and 86.7 percent at the line. Air Force (12-21) kept it close for 15 minutes but Colorado State pulled away over the final five of the first half and led 39-26 at the break. Nico Carvacho hit a jumper and Clavell added a 3 on back-to-back possessions to open the second half and the Rams cruised from there. Hayden Graham led the Falcons with 15 points, while Lavelle Scottie added 12.
PAC 12
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Lauri Markkanen scored 20 points, Allonzo Trier added 19 and No. 7 Arizona pulled away in the second half for a 92-78 victory over Colorado Thursday night in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. Arizona (28-4) had a hard time shaking the Buffaloes in the first half before stretching the lead to 17 in the second. The co-Pac-12 champions shot 56 percent, made 10 3-pointers and held nearly everyone except Derrick White in check on defense. White finished with 31 points and Xavier Johnson had 20, but Colorado (19-14) had no answer when Arizona hit the gas in the second half.
