LOVELAND - Every time Sammy Chen and his Monarch basketball teammates seemed to reach the mountaintop Thursday, the sixth-seeded Coyotes were greeted by another, more daunting summit.

First was the halftime deficit to second-seeded and heavily favored Arapahoe. Then it was the fourth-quarter foul out of perimeter guru Brooks Bajcar. Last was the never-ending resiliency of Arapahoe forward Levi Knutson.

So when the overtime buzzer sounded and the Budweiser Events Center scoreboard had Monarch ahead 61-57 in the Class 5A Ball Region Sweet 16 game, the Coyotes knew the enormity of their accomplishment.

"We felt Brooks' pain after he fouled out," said Chen, who scored all 16 of his points after halftime, including eight in overtime. "We just wanted to win it for him."

The Coyotes (20-6), who got four three-pointers from Bajcar, enter their initial Elite Eight as the lowest-remaining seed. If not for Knutson, the Coyotes might have been celebrating earlier.

The University of Colorado- bound senior, who finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds, kept the Warriors (19-5) afloat with improbable shots.

His three-point play on a putback and foul tied it 50-50 with 17 seconds left in regulation. Monarch's Sam Pendleton missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to send it to overtime. Knutson had tied it 46-46 with a three-pointer with 1:30 remaining.

Knutson then converted a three-point play with 45 seconds remaining in overtime to cut Monarch's lead to 56-55, but Monarch put it away with a bucket by Jason Cashdollar and three free throws by Chen.

"Levi was phenomenal. . . ," Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder said. "We hung in and hung in, but it was a real struggle for us offensively."

Monarch......8	13	14	15	11	-	61
Arapahoe......11	15	6	18	7	-	57

M - Sammy Chen 3 10-14 16, Brooks Bajcar 4 0-0 12, Mike Kuwalok 0 1-2 1, Jason Cashdollar 4 2-2 10, Ryan Magiera 5 0-0 11, Josh Allen 4 0-0 8, Sam Pendleton 1 0-0 3, Ryan Stepisnik 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 13-18 61.

A - David Vanchina 0 0-0 0, Conor Loan 6 0-2 12, Jack Sadowy 1 4-6 6, Jeff Hahl 1 0-0 2, Levi Knutson 9 11-12 31, Cam Kalkman 1 0-0 2, Kevin Mackey 0 0-0 0, Mike O'Brien 0 0-0 0, Drew Babb 0 0-0 0, David Lyons 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 15-20 57.

Three-point goals - M, Bajcar 4, Magiera, Pendleton. A, Knutson 2. Fouled out - Bajcar, Loan.

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