LOVELAND - Perhaps it was fitting in a game that didn't play out as expected that the track standout outshined the basketball star.

While third-seeded Rocky Mountain's 60-57 win against No. 2 seed Cherry Creek in the Sweet 16 of the Class 5A girls basketball tournament was surprising on many fronts, the 28 points scored by Ari Curtis were perhaps the most intriguing.

Curtis, whose twin sister Alana is headed to Idaho on a basketball scholarship, specializes in track and is bound for Drake.

And while Alana's line of nine points and 11 rebounds was solid, Ari who stole the show in the Lobos' comeback win at the Budweiser Events Center.

"We just didn't give up," said Ari Curtis, whose team trailed 32-20 early in the third quarter. "A lot of times, teams will just fold and crumble, especially when they're the lower seed. But we didn't really feel we were the lower seed coming in here."

Behind Curtis, Rocky Mountain (16-9) wiped out the 12-point deficit with a 27-4 run to take command 47-36 midway through the fourth. Still, the Lobos held their collective breath as Cherry Creek's Kelly Anderson missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer for the Bruins (21-3).

With Cherry Creek trailing 58-52, Anderson nailed a trey, stole the inbound pass, then sank two free throws to make it 58-57 with 21 seconds to play. Then Ari Curtis was fouled but was forced to leave the game because the Lobos' trainer went onto the court to see if she was OK.

That meant Morgan Hartman, who had not yet played, had to shoot the free throws. She made both with 12 seconds showing.

Anderson then missed the long three at the buzzer.

"We had a couple different options going into that play," said Cherry Creek's Rachel Roberson, who scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. "We got a good shot off, but it didn't end our way."

Rocky Mountain......8	12	14	26	-	60
Cherry Creek......16	11	9	21	-	57

RM - Jocelyn Zarling 4 4-4 13, Alana Curtis 4 1-2 9, Ari Curtis 6 13-14 28, Chelsea Schmitz 0 0-0 0, Jordan Connolly 1 1-2 4, Jenny Johnson 1 0-1 2, Krista Gleiforst 1 0-0 2, Chelsea Schmitz 0 0-0 0, Shannon Gertz 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hartman 0 2-2 2. Totals 17 21-25 60.

CC - Kristen Miller 2 1-2 5, Kelley Anderson 3 10-11 17, Allison Scholbe 4 1-1 11, Emily Lozow 0 0-0 0, Rachel Roberson 6 2-3 14, Haley Haddock 1 0-0 2, Taylor Brown 3 2-4 8, Maggie Morton 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 16-21 57.

Three-point goals - RM, Ari Curtis 3, Zarling, Connolly. CC, Scholbe 2, Anderson. Fouled out - Alana Curtis, Scholbe.

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