FORT COLLINS – The Eaton boys basketball team started their Saturday with a convoy, and ended it with a championship.

The Reds made the 30 minute bus trip to Fort Collins followed by a line of cars filled with parents, classmates and well-wishers, and they filled Moby Arena with a sea of red T-shirts and white towels. And the team made the fans' trip worth their while, as Eaton outlasted Kent Denver 60-50 to win the Class 3A state championship.

The Reds (24-3) outscored the Sun Devils 17-7 over the last 3:35 of the contest to grab their fifth basketball title in school history, and first since 1991.

"We just felt like, as a team, if we stayed together, anything was possible for us this year," said junior guard Lance Korell. "We just relied on our teamwork to get it done."

Korell scored 14 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including 9 of 10 free throws. He also did a decent job slowing down Kent Denver's Kyle Lewis, an all-state point guard who had been blistering opponents in the state tournament.

Lewis, the tournament most valuable player, finished with a game-best 27, but he had to work hard for every one of those points and was 3 of 12 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

"(Lewis) has been on my mind all weekend, and all you can do is try to contain him and hold him under 30 points," Korell said. "He's so tough that if you can hold him to 25 or 27, I'm happy with that."

Kent Denver (20-7), which was trying to win its first title since 1997, felt pretty good about its chances after Ben Stewart's put-back tied the score at 43-43 with 5:07 remaining in the contest.

But Kent Denver wouldn't hit another field goal until Lewis drilled a desperation three with 15.1 seconds to play.

"There are nights that even uncontested shots aren't going to go in," Sun Devils coach Todd Schayes said. "Eaton did a terrific job defensively. They were contesting all of our shots."

Eaton coach Dean Grable figured the Reds wouldn't be able to totally shut down Lewis, who averaged 29 points in Kent Denver's three tournament games, but he wanted to limit his damage to the perimeter.

"We figured (Lewis) would get in the 20 (point) range, which was fine," Grable said. "There at the end, the last four, three minutes, when he was letting them fly, I was saying 'Fine. That's what we want.'"

Eaton got a big lift from Kyle Lobato in the second half. Lobato, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, only scored two points in the first half, but erupted for 10 in the third quarter. He helped bring the Reds back from a seven point deficit in the period, hitting a three-pointer that sparked an 8-2 run to close the quarter and cut the deficit to 37-36.

"Sometimes you forget (Lobato's) 16 years old," Grable said. "He plays like he's a lot older. He's one of our most mature guys on the floor. He can take over games if he wants to, and he stepped up huge for us."

Eaton also relied heavily on its starting five, as the Reds basically rode a six-man rotation to the championship. Korell, Drew Geisick, Drew Smith, Cody Ball and Lobato played the majority of minutes, while Cameron Stewart gave them some relief off the bench.

That was the case again Saturday night, as those were the only six players to score for the Reds, and the only Eaton players to log over six seconds of court time.

"Coach Grable had us on the football field running the first day of practice," Korell said. "He told us 'If you want to be state champions, you better get in shape.' We prided ourselves on that all year long."

Eaton 60, Kent Denver 50

Kent Denver 12 10 15 13 -- 50

Eaton 11 10 15 24 -- 60

Kent Denver – Michael Reilly 1 0-0 2, Kyle Lewis 10 4-4 27, Max Holz 1 0-0 3, Will Deevy 2 2-2 8, Gunner Wiebe 0 0-1 0, Ben Stewart 4 2-5 10, Duncan Kenney 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-12 50.

Eaton – Lance Korell 5 13-14 24, Drew Geisick 4 0-2 9, Drew Smith 1 1-4 3, Cameron Stewart 1 2-2 4, Cody Ball 0 1-2 1, Seth Lobato 6 4-4 19. Totals 17 21-28 60.

Three-point field goals – Kent Denver, Lewis 3, Deevy 2, Holz 1; Eaton, Lobato 3, Korell, Geisick. Fouled out – Wiebe, Ball. Technical fouls – Eaton coach.

Class 3A All-Tournament Team

Kyle Lewis, Kent Denver

Matt Baarts, Colorado Springs Christian

Kyle Lobato, Eaton

Abram Ziemer, Faith Christian

Lance Korell, Eaton

Tournament MVP – Kyle Lewis, Kent Denver

Third-place game

Faith Christian 66, Colorado Springs Christian 65

CSC 13 15 15 22 — 65

Faith 20 8 23 15 — 66

Colorado Springs Christian – Jeremy Mellema 3 4-4 10, Tucker Veltkamp 4 0-0 12, Jake Selley 3 2-4 10, Spencer Smith 1 3-5 5, Taylor Broekhuis 4 0-0 8, Ben Collura 0 0-0 0, Matt Baarts 7 5-6 20. Totals 22 14-19 65.

Faith Christian – Jobi Wall 9 4-4 24, Abram Ziemer 7 4-5 22, Sam Chapman 0 1-2 1, Vince Colson 3 5-6 12, Nick Gill 1 0-0 2, Graham Yantis 2 1-4 5. Totals 22 15-21 66.

Three-point field goals – CSC, Veltkamp 4, Selley 2, Baarts 1; Faith, Ziemer 4, Wall 2, Colson. Fouled out – Broekhuis. Technical foul – Faith bench.

Fifth-place game

Roaring Fork 55, Pagosa Springs 48

Pagosa - 9 6 15 18 — 48

Roaring Fork - 13 13 9 20 — 55

Pagosa Springs – Jordan Shaffer 6 6-6 21, Kerry Joe Hilsabeck 4 2-3 10, Adam Trujillo 2 0-0 4, Caleb Ormonde 3 5-6 11, Casey Hart 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 13-15 48.

Roaring Fork – Kade Gianinetti 4 5-8 13, Trevor Hunt 0 3-4 3, Kyle Raaflaub 3 8-9 14, Tyler Hunt 4 1-2 10, Torrey Udall 3 5-6 11, Walker Abrahamovich 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 22-29 55.

Three-point field goals – Pagosa Springs, Shaffer 3; Roaring Fork, Hunt. Fouled out – Shaffer, Ormonde, Hunt.

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