The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

The basketball postseason is in full swing and teams are just a week away from the State tournament in classes 1A through 3A. Class 4A started its state bracket last week.

Fort Morgan's boys opened the 4A tournament on Wednesday as the #33 seed. The Mustangs got 16 points apiece from Fernando Marquez and Wesley Carnes, but came up short in their opening round contest at #32 Sand Creek, 60-47.

Sterling grabbed the #2 seed in the Class 3A boys state bracket after winning the Patriot League title over the weekend. The Tigers avenged an earlier loss to Resurrection Christian, beating the Cougars 52-38 in the championship contest. Jackson Keil was named tournament MVP. The Tigers host #31 Prospect Ridge Academy on Friday, with either #15 Eaton or #18 Colorado Springs Christian waiting for the winner on Saturday.

Brush is also in that portion of the bracket, as the Beetdiggers earned the #28 seed. The Beetdiggers, who saw Cesar Hinojos top the 1000 career point mark last week, finished fifth in the Patriot League tournament. They will travel to #7 Manual for a first round game on Friday.

Class 2A plays regionals this week and Yuma is the top seed for the round. The Indians won the District 2 crown by beating Wray 53-41. Clay Robinson surpassed the 1200 career point mark in the win, becoming the all-time leading scorer in program history in the process. The Indians will host Dawson School on Friday, with either Vail Christian or Rye awaiting the winner.

Limon is the #2 seed after the Badgers upset Denver Christian in the finals of District 4 on Saturday. The Badgers won that rematch 54-46 and will host Calhan on Friday. Fowler and Meeker play in the other semifinal.

Crowley County's title win over Rye in the District 6 tournament final (40-39) gave the Chargers the #6 seed for regionals. If the Chargers can beat Lake County in the semifinal on Friday, they could meet Holly, who faces #22 Cedaredge.

Byers and Holyoke will meet for the right to face either #3 Sanford or Telluride in Region 3, while Wray tangles with Plateau Valley in Region 7. That one is hosted by Heritage Christian. Wiggins is the #24 seed and will face Denver Christian at Thomas MacLaren School.

In Class 1A, the Northeast Region sees Evangelical Christian, Briggsdale and Haxtun as the top three seeds, with all three receiving byes. None of the three won their respective district tournaments, with ECA finishing second to Simla (29-27) in District 7 and Briggsdale falling to Merino in the title game of District 4. Haxtun finished third in D4.

ECA will face the winner between #6 Hanover (third in D7) and #7 Genoa-Hugo/Karval, who won the title in District 5. Wyatt Miller went over the 1000 point and 600 rebound mark in his career in Genoa-Hugo/Karval's win over Idalia on Saturday. Briggsdale will get either Merino (who beat the Falcons for the D4 title) or Idalia, while Haxtun gets the winner of the semifinal between Simla and Stratton. All of the games will be held at Brush High School.

Granada lost to McClave in the finals of District 2, but the Bobcats will be the top seed in the Southeast Region. They will meet the winner of Springfield and Cotopaxi on Saturday. Sierra Grande is the #2 seed after winning District 6. Kim/Branson, the champ of District 3, meets Mountain Valley, with the winner facing Sierra Grande. McClave is the third seed and the Cards will face either Wiley or Primero. All games are at La Junta High School.

Lamar's girls punched their ticket into the Class 3A state bracket by upsetting Ellicott (56-46), Vanguard (46-45) and St. Mary's (48-41) in the Tri-Peaks tournament last week. That stellar run gave the Savages the #8 seed in the bracket, allowing them to host an opening round pod, with a contest against #25 Denver West. Eaton and North Fork are also in the pod.

Holyoke, Limon and Rye all earned the right to host regionals in Class 2A by winning their respective districts. Holyoke, who defeated Wiggins in the District 2 finals, will host Dolores Huerta Prep, with Swink and Denver Christian in their pod. Limon took down Denver Christian in District 4 and will host #30 Fowler, with Wray and Meeker also in the region. Rye won the District 6 title, and hosts Front Range Christian, Heritage Christian and Yuma.

Burlington and Akron both travel to Sanford for their regional contests, with Burlington facing the hosts and Akron meeting Mancos. Wiggins takes on Gilpin County in Soroco, while Byers goes to Cedaredge and faces the hosts. Sedgwick County takes on Monte Vista in Peyton.

All three of the top seeds in the Class 1A Northeast Region come from District 4. Briggsdale, who won that title, is the top seed and will meet either Stratton or Simla in the finals. Fleming, who took third in District 4 gets either Kiowa, the District 7 champ or Idalia in their bracket. Merino, second in the district, has District 5 champion Lone Star and Elbert in its bracket. All games are played at Brush High School this weekend.

In the Southeast Region, McClave is the top seed after winning the title in District 2. South Baca, the District 3 runner-up and Centennial will meet with the winner advancing to face McClave. Sangre de Cristo won District 6 and will get either Kit Carson (second in D2) or District 3 titlist Springfield. The last team receiving a bye is Cheyenne Wells, who finished third in District 2. The Tigers will take on either Kim/Branson or Sierra Grande. All games are at La Junta High School over the weekend.