ThunderRidge Pulls Away From Lincoln

In the second round of the Boys 5A State Basketball Tournament the host ThunderRidge Grizzlies pulled away from the visiting Lincoln Lancers in the second half to advance to the Sweet 16, 67-50.

The first half was an exciting back and forth contest which included a Mitch Bloom put back dunk that got the ThunderRide student section going. When it appeared that ThunderRidge was gaining momentum, Lincoln would answer with a three pointer from senior guard Jesse Giron. The 5’8 guard had 13 points in the first half and kept Lincoln in the game. ThunderRidge got great first half performances from senior forward Clay Verk, junior guard Corey Seng and sophomore guard Kaison Hammonds. Hammonds scored seven points in the first quarter but left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return.   Seng scored his 10th point of the first half with this put back at the buzzer which gave ThunderRidge a 35 -33 lead at halftime.

With Hammonds out, that gave senior guard Elijah Rodriguez extended playing time and he made the most of it.  After Lincoln cut the ThunderRidge lead to 37-35 with a basket by junior guard Jamison Washington early in the 3rd quarter, Rodriguez led a 9-0 run. He connected on two three pointers off of crisp passes that found him wide open. Senior guard Troy Brady sank his second three pointer of the day to cap the run and give the Grizzlies an 11 point lead.  Rodriguez and Brady handled the Lincoln pressure with ease for the most part making smart passes and handling the ball solidly.  Lincoln could not answer  Washington was saddled with fouls for most of the game and Grion was only able to get one basket in the second half. Lincoln also missed on a number of drives.  ThunderRidge maintained a double digit lead throughout the entire fourth quarter which capped by an Austin Mueller two hand dunk with a minute left in the game.

ThunderRidge will play Cherry Creek  on Wednesday in the Sweet 16 at home.