Today's Sports

Curtis Cunningham deserves a humanitarian award.

As the crowd at Columbine High School struggled to stay warm March 14, the senior slugger did what he had to do to send everyone home. He crushed the first pitch he saw.

And everyone ran to their cars to turn on the heat.

Dakota Ridge advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Class 5A girls basketball state tournament with a 66-61 overtime victory over Monarch in the Sweet 16 on March 6 at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.

Jennelle Branting led the Eagles, seeded second in the Carol Callan region, with 21 points. Dakota Ridge (22-3) takes on No. 1 Regis, a 59-37 winner over Heritage, at 2:30 p.m. March 8 at the Denver Coliseum in the first of four quarterfinal games.

Rebels fall to Wolverines

The Rebels’ girls basketball team was happy to get one more home game Feb. 28. Call it a curtain call for the seniors and one more chance for the team to continue to improve.

The No. 5 Rebels got all of that as they pounded 12th-seeded Fruita Monument to kick off the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.

With a first-round Class 5A playoff victory in reach, with separation finally achieved late in the fourth quarter of an exciting slugfest, the Chatfield Chargers blinked.

And victory disappeared.

Ahead by eight with 3:45 remaining, the Chargers gave up a 10-0 run to Montbello and bungled away their late attempts to tie or regain the lead in a 67-66 home defeat Feb. 27.