Colorado Springs Christian School opened scoring in the first minute, but the contest was all St. Mary’s for the rest of the way. 

After taking a 5-4 lead, the Pirates led for the rest of the game to take down the rival Lions 67-60 at the University of Denver on Thursday to advance to the 3A boys basketball Final Four. St. Mary’s will face the winner of No. 1 Strasburg vs. No. 9 Wiggins on Friday at 11:30 a.m. 

“Our season took an interesting turn,” Pirates coach Trey Harris said. “We were losing some tough ones, but the intensity switched, and our guys started to buy in a bit later. We always play better in our postseason, so I guess I can’t complain about that.” 

St. Mary’s led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, and despite a three-point play by CSCS’s Maximilano Cota-Cordova to get within three at the six-minute mark, the Pirates finished strong down the stretch with 3 for 4 shooting from the foul line to pull away with the win.

This is the third matchup between the programs this season, with CSCS (18-8) taking the first and St. Mary’s (19-7) winning the last two. It was an electric atmosphere in Hamilton Gym with both schools’ student sections making the trip to Denver.

“It feels great. We’ve seen them three times this year, so it feels good to beat them in the biggest matchup so far,” senior Bret Stewart said. “It was tough. They came back multiple times, but we just stayed together the whole game.”

Stewart and senior Jeremiah Starr led the Pirates with 17 points apiece, and sophomore Dominic Lewis added 15. The Pirates shot 51.1% from the field and 14 for 19 (73.7%) from the foul line. 

Cota-Cordova, the Lions’ leading scorer, was held to four points in the first half, but went on to score nine in the second half to finish with a team-leading 13. The senior also achieved 1,000 career points in two seasons, with 11 in the third quarter. 

“It’s really cool, but of course I’m sad we lost,” Cota-Cordova said. “I would trade the 1,000 points for a win in a second. But I’m thankful for my two years here. I feel blessed to have the coaches and teammates in my life. I’m always going to remember this.”

After shooting 38% in the first half, CSCS improved on offense in the second half to finish with 52.4% shooting from the field and shot 8 for 12 (67%) from the free-throw line. 

A 9-0 run gave St. Mary’s a 12-8 lead after the first quarter, limiting Cota-Cordova to just two points. CSCS managed to tie the game at 18-18 with three minutes left in the half, but a 9-2 run by the Pirates gave them a 27-20 edge into the break. 

St. Mary’s led by as many as 11 points in the third. And despite a late push by the Lions, the Pirates added five more in the last minute to stay ahead into the fourth quarter. 

“It would mean a lot to win tomorrow,” Harris said. “I don’t think a lot of the guys expected us to get this far. To get this far, the guys believe now, so we just need to keep going.”