Windsor boys basketball blows out Standley Lake to open quest for 5A Final Four return
WINDSOR — It's a tale as old as playoff time.
The postseason opener always brings nerves and a feeling-out period to work through them.
The Windsor High School boys basketball team faced that head on early but roared through the nerves with a blistering second half to wallop No. 30 Standley Lake 67-35 at home on Wednesday night.
The third-seeded Wizards opened the Colorado Class 5A playoffs as one of the favorites. They did nothing to change that notion.
At least after plenty of missed layups and turnovers in the first quarter, when they "only" had a 12-7 lead.
"I thought we were a little tight in the first half, not as aggressive as we needed to be," coach Jon Rakiecki said. "So our staff challenged them."
The Wizards led 31-18 by halftime, then absolutely buried the Gators with 44 second-half points, including six 3-pointers.
"We took it to heart and came out with more juice," Madden Smiley said.
Windsor's backcourt did the damage. Smiley led with 20 points and several transition buckets. Tadese Keyworth added 18 more, as he and Brady Kingsley each hit a pair of 3-pointers.
"That’s what makes this team so special," Rakiecki said. "Who are you going to target to shut down?"
Balance on both sides of the ball also makes this team especially dangerous.
Windsor had hands in the passing lanes all game and forced over 20 turnovers, smothering a Standley Lake squad that came in averaging 55 points per game.
"I thought our effort and energy was good on defense," Smiley said. "That's where we need to be."
The Wizards are right where they want to be, too.
They'll host No. 14 Thomas Jefferson (Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m.) with a return trip to the Great 8 and the Denver Coliseum at stake.
Windsor reached last year's 5A Final 4 but lost four key seniors from that squad.
The Wizards (21-4) haven't missed a beat this season, winning the Northern Conference title with an unbeaten league campaign and earning a No. 3 seed.
They've dominated and been challenged, with a mix of dynamic youth and experience ready to put a banner up in the Windsor gym.
"We have guys who've experienced the (playoffs) and know what it will be like," Smiley said. "This win is big because it gets the ball rolling to where we want to go."
Trio of city teams fall in 6A first round
Three Fort Collins boys teams lost first-round 6A games on the road Wednesday night.
No. 20 Fossil Ridge (16-8) put up a good fight at No. 13 Cherry Creek, even leading by two after three quarters. But the Bruins won crunch time, outscoring the SaberCats by five in the final period to win 45-42.
Fossil Ridge couldn't make it back to the Coliseum after reaching the state championship game each of the past two seasons.
No. 28 Rocky Mountain (13-11) got blitzed in the middle two quarters and lost 67-42 at No. 5 Rock Canyon. The Lobos still won the city with a strong regular-season finish.
No. 29 Fort Collins (14-10) couldn't get its offense going, losing 79-44 at No. 4 ThunderRidge. The Lambkins finished the season on a four-game losing streak.
No further stats were immediately available.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado boys basketball playoffs: Windsor blows out Standley Lake in 5A 1st round
