Awesome Aspen upset: Eagle Valley goes down

Lashing back at a team that beat them on their own senior night by 40 points in Aspen, the No. 3 seed Skiers knocked off second-seeded Eagle Valley 54-50 last night in Rifle in the semifinals of the boys district basketball tournament.

“We just pulled off the upset of the year,” said Aspen coach Steve Ketchum. Aspen, now 13-8, lost twice to 16-5 Eagle Valley during the regular season.

The Skiers led by 16 points at halftime, 25-9, behind solid defense and perimeter shooting.

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“Then the furious rally came,” Ketchum said.

“They hit a bunch of threes, we had a bunch of turnovers, and they cut it all the way down to a basket.”

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But Cody Gerard came to life, scoring all 21 of his points in the second half, and Aspen hit 8-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Skiers senior Moss Schermerhorn led Aspen with 21 points and 13 rebounds, his third consecutive double-double.

“Moss is stepping up big time,” said Ketchum.

Aspen’s Alex Terral had 11 points, a career high, and Brock Strausbourger had 13, including three 3-pointers.

Aspen will now face the most dominant team in recent valley history, top-seeded Roaring Fork.

The Rams pounded Gunnison 72-37, led by Jake Boyle’s 19. Basalt jumped all over Hotchkiss in the first half en route to a 62-53 win. Cody Burkholder scored 18, and Darren Duroux added 14 for the Longhorns.

As for the Skiers, their coach likes Aspen’s chances.

“Here’s the good news: I’m sure nobody thought we’d beat Eagle Valley,” Ketchum said. “And I’m pretty sure there’s a similar popular sentiment going into the championship.”

Aspen tips off against Roaring Fork for the Class 3A Western Slope League district title at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Rifle High School.

Meanwhile, the girls district tournament, featuring red-hot Basalt, picks up second-round action today at Rifle High.

[Tim Mutrie’s e-mail is mutrie@aspentimes.com]