Ant Nettles powers Eaglecrest into Class 6A title game in dramatic OT win over Mountain Vista

Eaglecrest’s season was about to end in a second straight Final Four heartbreak.

Then Ant Nettles went off.

With the Raptors down two points in the game’s waning moments, the senior point guard stole an inbound pass and proceeded to drill a running floater to tie the game with five seconds left. Nettles then swished a corner three to open overtime, and the Raptors never looked back in a dramatic 79-69 comeback win over Mountain Vista on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.

“We had to get a steal and make a play, and I was determined to do it to get us back in the game,” Nettles said. “Then (on offense), time winding down, season on the line, we needed a bucket. The called play was to get a 3, but when time wound down and it wasn’t there, I put it in my own hands.”

Those hands proved clutch to lift Eaglecrest to its fourth championship game, and first since winning it all in 2017.

And after Nettles’ 3 opened OT, Eaglecrest dominated the extra frame 18-7 to stun Mountain Vista, which led for the majority of the afternoon. The Golden Eagles fell to 0-5 in the Final 4, a heartbreaking defeat that left their strong student section in stunned silence.

Nettles led all scorers with 25 points, while senior center Garrett Barger had a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Sophomore Kris Coleman added 17 points, and that trio’s play was enough to edge Mountain Vista’s tandem of senior point guard Cal Baskind (21 points) and junior center Oliver Junker (double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds).

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter, but Eaglecrest made some changes in the second quarter to slow Mountain Vista’s run-and-gun tempo.

“We did not get back on defense early, and they popped us right in the mouth,” Eaglecrest head coach Jarris Krapcha said. “That was tough, but the thing is, even with our record we’ve been behind in a lot of games this year. We’ve had to come from behind to win, we’ve been in tight games.

“We didn’t panic, and we changed a couple things defensively. We told our guards to not crash and just get back on defense and build a wall around the rim.”

Mountain Vista clung to a one-point lead entering the final frame, but then Barger said the Raptors “turnt up” with their season hanging in the balance. And once the game got to overtime, all the momentum was with Eaglecrest.

“We knew it was our game to win at that point,” Nettles said. “We came in with a whole new mentality.”

Nettles was ineligible to play the first half of the season after transferring from Douglas County. But since he entered the lineup with 18 points in his Eaglecrest debut against Palmer on Jan. 3, the Centennial League champions are a sparkling 18-0 to extend their overall record to 25-2.

“Our team has jelled together, and we’re taking on our roles, playing our roles,” Nettles said. “If we keep doing that, we can win one more game and bring this thing home.”

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