The Boulder Valley Invitational is one of the best events that happens at Centaurus. Seven boys and girls basketball teams from across the state come to play in a tournament in Tom Sutak Gymnasium. The eighth team, of course, are your Warriors. The 2024 BVI lived up to expectations. This year had new teams, as high school schedules in Colorado change every two years. Other than Centaurus, seven other teams, Discovery Canyon, Poudre, Fort Collins, Pomona, Niwot, Standley Lake, and Roosevelt participated on the boys’ side. On the girls’ side, Standley Lake, Niwot, Adams City, Greeley Central, Pomona, Smoky Hill, and Gateway joined the Warriors.
The tournament featured great moments throughout, like Roosevelt hitting a buzzer-beater to take their first round boys’ game against Niwot into overtime, where they would eventually win, and Greeley Central’s 21-0 run in the 3rd quarter in their girls first round game against Gateway. After almost thirty five hours of basketball over five days, we had winners crowned for both boys and girls. On the girls side, Standley Lake beat Centaurus 54-39 to win the title. Following that game, Discovery Canyon beat Standley Lake 47-40 in the boys championship.
Both Centaurus teams went 2-1 over the course of their respective tournaments. The boys started with a 68-64 win over Pomona. The next night, the girls gritted out a win against Smoky Hill, 43-40. On Thursday, the boys team lost to Standley Lake 63-51. It was a wake up call for the team. Senior Matthew Mammarrappalil said after the game, “We realized that we got a little complacent and put more of an emphasis on great practices leading to good games.” That philosophy worked, as the Warriors defeated Roosevelt 52-43 to finish third in the tournament. In the girls’ tournament, Centaurus beat Pomona 52-24 to reach the championship game. Despite the loss to Standley Lake, the Warriors finished their tournament with a positive record. Sam Esposito was the points leader for the boys with 22 points per game, while Ingrid Lorton led the girls in points with a 14 point average per game according to MaxPreps. She also had a double double (double figures in two stat categories) in the last two games. After the tournament ended, both teams picked up a win to go into winter break on a high note. There are games every Tuesday and Friday till the end of the season. The first season game was January 3rd, where the boys hosted Highlands Ranch and the girls traveled to Westminster. The boys lost a close one 67-56, while the girls beat Westminster 59-22.
