State 5A boys basketball: Prairie View visits Poudre

GREENWOOD VILLAGE –There is some familiarity between the basketball teams of Poudre and Prairie View high schools, even though they are a bit more than an hour apart in distance.

                  The ThunderHawks and the Impalas face off in the first round of the state 5A tournament Tuesday in Fort Collins. The pairing was part of the 48-team bracket unveiled by the Colorado High School Activities Association. The tip time had not been set late Sunday night. PVHS has a record of 15-7, and Poudre sports a record of 15-8.

                  The winner gets top-seeded Regis Jesuit in the second round Friday in Aurora.

                  The familiarity angle comes from summer ball.

                  “I don’t know a lot about them. We played them in summer ball. But summer ball is a lot different from school ball,” PVHS coach Tim DeBerry said. “I know they play in a good league, and they have a couple of big kids and one who transferred in. We’re going to practice what we do and try to find out a few things.”

                  The Impalas’ top scorer this season is Lake Reed at 12.5 points per game. Patrick Gronewoller is next at 11.3 per outing. Brett Throgmorton controls the boards, sweeping off almost eight rebounds per contest. PVHS gets most of its offense from Corey Reid, who averages 12 points per game. The rebounding comes from Preston Johnson at 7.7 rebounds per game.

                  “I’m happy with where we are,” DeBerry said. “We’re 8-2 in our last 10. We lost to two pretty good teams (Rangeview and Aurora Central), so I can’t be upset. We played six games in the last 10 days and lost just one of those. A lot of the credit for that goes to the kids. They sucked it up.”

Contact Sports Editor Steve Smith at sports@metrowestnewspapers.com or at 303-659-2522, ext. 224.