Doherty Shocks Rampart In Overtime

DENVER—In a Great Eight basketball battle of attrition on Friday, the fans who lasted to the fourth game saw the best finish of the night.  The Doherty Spartans needed two regular season games, all 32 minutes of regulation, plus four more of overtime to knock off their rivals, the C.S. Metro champions and number one seeded, Rampart Rams 69-64.

The first half of this one belonged to Rampart, thanks largely in part to senior shooter Alex Koehler.  Koehler came out of the gate smoking hot, hitting his first four shots, all of which came from behind the arc.

At one point in the first half, Rampart was comfortably ahead by 22 points, due mostly to Koehler’s hot shooting, and the aggressively cool temperament of senior guard Devon Grant.

Doherty stumbled badly out of the gate.  The Spartans had trouble getting shots and holding onto the ball.  In the first two quarters Doherty was harassed, pressured, forced and confused into committing 12 turnovers.

“Coach ripped me a couple times on the bench,” said Doherty senior point guard Mark Jones.  “He took me out, told me what I needed to do, and so I started to get it done.”

Toward the end of the second quarter, Doherty senior Tyler Velasquez hit some big shots including two three pointers which helped cut the halftime lead to twelve, 35-23.

In the third quarter the teams flip-flopped mentalities.  In the third period it was the Spartans who were more aggressive.  Doherty repeatedly and consistently hounded Grant and fellow senior Reuben Riggs-Russell until they made bad decisions.

Doherty outscored Rampart 17-3 in the period and took a two point lead into the fourth.  In the fourth both teams played tremendously, hitting big shots and clutch free throws.

For Doherty, the second half was a showcase for their role players.  Big men Matt Oesterle and Dylan Sisneros, who had been foul machines in the first half, started rebounding and finishing.  Off the bench Zac Donohoe played good defense, and Reggie Sampson and Andrew Hill contributed 18 points to the Spartan cause.

Doherty coach Dan McKiernan spoke about his team’s depth: “We put some younger guys in the starting lineup so we would be a little quicker, but now the bench players are the old starters, so they come in and they are experienced.”

When the fourth quarter came to an end, there was nothing to separate the two teams.  Each had played one good half, and one bad half of basketball and the result was a 57-57 tie.

In the overtime period, Rampart was without leading scorer Riggs-Russell who had fouled out late in the fourth.  The opportunity was there for either team to win the game, but it was the Doherty Spartans, on the backs of its senior guards Mark Jones and Tyler Velasquez, who punched their ticket to the Final Four.

“This is the greatest feeling in the world right now,” said Mark Jones.  “Everybody said ‘Doherty isn’t gonna make it through the first round.  Doherty isn’t gonna make it through the second round.  Doherty is gonna lose by 20 to Rampart.’  We were down by more than 15 and me and Tyler Velasquez both stepped up at the end.”

The Spartans next game comes against the defending state champion Regis Jesuit Raiders.  The two teams met earlier this season with Regis coming out on top 73-56.  

Checkout the updated brackets.

Contact the writer at csilverman@milehighhoops.com