GRAND JUNCTION – With 5 minutes, 50 seconds left in the eight-minute third quarter Saturday afternoon, Dove Creek fans inside Grand Junction High School gym were on edge as star junior Kade Hankins was benched after a third personal foul.
Seconds later, Ryan Jarmon – whose first three-pointer got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, whose second kept the Bulldogs within two, 12-10, and whose third put Dove Creek ahead 17-14 just 5:28 minutes before halftime – was rejected by Westminster Belleview Christian’s 6-foot-5 Nathaniel Owen, the defending 1A state champions’ top two-way threat.
But as Belleview appeared ready to break free, junior Bulldog Tanner Williams banked in a two-pointer and Jarmon drilled his second attempted shot of the half – another three-ball.
“I had total faith in them, knew they could do it,” Hankins said of his teammates, who increased a shaky 23-22 lead to 32-25 during his time on the bench. “We’d become such a great team the last couple weeks, playing some great basketball and finally showing everybody that we’re a top-ranked team in this state.”
Trailing 32-29 to start the fourth quarter, thanks to sophomore Matthew Norman’s trey with 0:03 left in the third, Belleview Christian hadn’t looked like a championship team against Dove Creek’s zone defense, except for Owen’s 11 points and sophomore guard Jagga Sandhu’s seven.
“We knew that (Owen) was going to be the guy to cover, so we planned on double-teaming him in our 2-3,” said Dove Creek head coach Aaron Hankins. “We know he could score whenever he wanted to, but we did a good job today of shutting him down.”
“Any time (No. 11) got in the paint we just double-teamed him,” junior Kendall Gardner, who also finished the third quarter with three fouls. “None of the rest of their team could do anything.”
That is, until the final 46 seconds.
The Bulldogs had rebuilt their lead to 37-32 with a Williams free throw and back-to-back Kade Hankins scores in the fourth quarter’s opening three minutes. They later maxed it out at 46-39 after Gardner hit one free throw and Hankins followed with two.
Then, with less than a minute remaining, Belleview showed its resolve.
Sandhu sank his third three in the game to bring the Bruins back to 46-42, and Owen followed it with another. With 15.9 seconds left, he was fouled by Jarmon but clanked what could have been two game-winning free throws. The ball ended up in Gardner’s hands and he was fouled, not much time having elapsed.
“They had some big, tall guys who could jump up there and grab the rebounds,” said Kade Hankins. “We had to get every board to win this game, and that’s what we did.”
Able to hit one of two tries, Gardner ensured that only a Belleview 3-pointer would steal the day after Williams missed two FTs with 10.8 ticks remaining.
And that’s what the Bruins planned.
Coming out of a timeout with 0:06.8 left on the clock, Belleview launched a three from the left wing but it was off-target.
Dove Creek players, coaches and supporters exploded in celebration for their first state playoffs victory in perhaps five decades.
“This is actually school history,” Jarmon said. “It’s great to know that we won over all the adversity at the beginning of the season.”
“It’s a great accomplishment for all our team, and all of Dove Creek,” said Gardner.
Owen finished with a game-high 20 points for the Bruins (16-6 overall) in defeat, and Sandhu had 13. Junior Davin Hunter booked six, 4 of 8 from the foul line. Owen was 3 of 7 and Sandhu 4 of 7 as Belleview went a crippling 12 of 24, while the Bulldogs were 10 of 17.
“We could have done better, but we got enough,” deadpanned Aaron Hankins.
Kade Hankins paced Dove Creek (13-10 overall) with his 19 points, 10 during the fourth quarter. Jarmon netted a vital 14, and Williams also reached double figures with 10. Gardner and senior Blane Johnson each finished with two points.
“I’ve always wanted to go to state in basketball,” said Kade Hankins. “It’s an incredible ride, man, a dream come true!”
“It was a team effort, and I’m very proud of these guys,” Aaron Hankins said. “I felt like I was out there playing the game with them there at the end! And it’s almost like we tried everything we could in the last 20 seconds to give it away, but we persevered.”
“We’ve been the underdogs all year, and everybody stepped up today. It’s a huge deal.”
Dove Creek’s first foe in the Great Eight will be Sierra Grande on Thursday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m. in Bank of Colorado Arena at Butler-Hancock Athletic Center at the University of Northern Colorado. The Blanca-based Panthers improved to 23-0 by handling Kim/Branson 54-35 in Region III, Bracket 2.
