Denver, CO
Northfield roars back against Mead, outscoring Mavericks 21-3 in final quarter to advance to Class 5A Final Four
In the storied annals of Denver Public Schools basketball, Northfield is hungry to write its own chapter.
The Nighthawks advanced to the Class 5A Final Four on Friday at the Denver Coliseum with a furious fourth-quarter comeback against Mead. Northfield won 61-52, outscoring the Mavericks 21-3 in the final frame.
After going 5-16 two years ago and losing in the first round of the playoffs last season, top-seeded Northfield rolls into next week’s Final Four with the wind at its back.
“Everyone’s still underrating us, even though we’re the No. 1 seed,” said senior Justus Michael, who had a game-high 14 points. “We don’t feel like we’re the No. 1 seed with (the lack of respect) we’ve been given. The whole state has underrated us all year, knowing that we weren’t that good the last couple years. But now we’re in the Final Four.
“Everybody’s surprised, but we’re not. We’re ready (to make history).”
The Nighthawks racked up a program-record 24 wins this season en route to their second Final Four. Northfield also made it to that stage of the Class 4A tournament in 2020 before the final games were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Northfield, which opened its doors in 2015 in the growing Stapleton neighborhood, is after the school’s fourth team title. The other three all came on the pitch, two in boys soccer and one in girls soccer.
The team is led by head coach Dre Calloway, who starred on Lincoln’s Class 4A title squad in 2008 and also coached the Lancers for six seasons before coming over to Northfield. Against Mead, Calloway said his team came out hesitant, and the Mavericks jumped out to a 16-7 lead after ending the first quarter on a 8-0 run.
“In the first half, we were anxious,” Calloway said. “We went out there playing to not make mistakes. We told them at half to relax, play for each other and we would be fine. … We’ve been a part of every basketball scenario throughout the season, and we knew we just needed to continue to compete. We went out and let the chips fall where they may.”
Behind Michael, Northfield also had three other scorers in double-digits: junior Jordan Jefferson with 12, senior Da’Quan Slayton 11, and junior Gyasi Hawthorne 10. Mead was paced by 13 points from senior Dominic Reed McLawrence, while junior Matthew Angelo and senior Mason Willyard each had 12.
Northfield’s relentlessly raucous crowd, which made a strong case for the best student section of the weekend thus far, provided extra mojo for the Nighthawks, erasing a 49-40 deficit entering the final quarter. Slayton got the comeback going with a fast-break lay-up and a banked three on Northfield’s first couple possessions of the fourth.
From there, the Mavericks never recovered as Northfield controlled the tempo, hit tough shots and forced empty Mead possessions on the other end of the floor.
“We weren’t crashing the boards in the first half, but that changed in the second half and especially the fourth,” Slayton said. “And the crowd had so much energy, we fed off that, especially as the tide started to turn.”
The Nighthawks, whose lone losses this year came to Class 6A teams (Mullen and Fruita Monument) in tournament play in December, face the winner of defending champion Mesa Ridge and Dakota Ridge in the Final Four.
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DENVER (KDVR) — Two officers, one now formerly of the Denver Police Department, face multiple charges relating to separate incidents in the past two months.
According to a release, now-former Denver Police Officer Gabriel Lucero was issued a citation for third-degree assault, official misconduct and false reporting, while Officer Javon Leach was cited for reckless driving and eluding.
The incident involving Lucero reportedly occurred on May 22 just before 1 a.m. in the 500 block of 16th Street. According to a release, Lucero was involved in an assault at a business, as he allegedly assaulted a person and walked away as others continued to assault the victim.
Security guards and an off-duty officer escorted him and the group out; however, Lucero reportedly identified himself as a Denver police officer and attempted to re-enter by using his police badge.
Lucero reportedly provided a false name without any other information, and further investigation verified Lucero as the person involved. Lucero was hired in 2025 and, due to his current probationary status, was fired as of Wednesday.
The incident involving Leach occurred around 1:41 a.m. on June 21, when Leach was reportedly pulling out of a parking lot on Larimer Street, attempting to drive against traffic.
Leach reportedly refused commands to stop as he left the area. Officials said he was found just seven minutes later, traveling at high speeds northbound on Park Avenue West.
He reportedly fled a traffic stop and continued to drive away, and officials deemed Leach to be the suspect following an investigation. He was placed in an off-line assignment while the case progresses, as they are considered misdemeanors.
“The Denver Police Department’s administrative review of Leach’s incident will begin once the criminal case is adjudicated, and that process includes the Denver Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent Monitor, a civilian oversight agency,” the release said.
Denver Nuggets standout forward Peyton Watson could find himself on another team before you know it.
With the Nuggets reportedly open to a sign-and-trade of Watson, could Denver really lose a core piece to their rotation?
It’s hard to imagine many teams being able to shoulder the financial weight of a Watson contract at this point because of the aprons and such, but he’s absolutely an asset to any contending team.
We’ve gone through and identified a few teams that make sense for Watson in the fall… including the one he’s already on at the moment. Hey, he might stay home, you never know!
The Clippers have been linked to Watson as a possible destination; he could help them immensely.
The Pistons have also been linked to Watson, which would help them a lot to contend for an NBA title.
Look, HYPOTHETICALLY, the Nets could move around some cap space with some player trades and such and get a deal done. They are one of the only teams in the NBA right now not in the negative with cap space.
The Grizzlies are the team with the least amount of negative cap space right now, per Spotrac. If they really wanted to pull off a Watson sign-and-trade… it would be hypothetically possible from a money standpoint.
Denver Nuggts
Look, it’s very possible Watson just stays in Denver on a brand-new deal. Who knows at this point?
DENVER (KDVR) – A Denver Park Hill Resident says trash in her alley hasn’t been picked up by city-run waste collection in more than 2 months.
“It’s starting to be frustrating because that pile has been there 2.5 months, and I’m not kidding about that,” Andrea Sanders-Childs said.
A spokesperson for Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) says they did receive a call about the address on Krameria in mid-June and are investigating the case as ‘illegal dumping’ versus ‘missed collection.’
The DOTI spokesperson says more information will be available when the inspector assigned to the area returns on Wednesday.
Sanders-Childs said that the people who live in the home closest to the mess had actually rented a dumpster; however, it was eventually picked up and towed away.
In the meantime, for Denver residents, DOTI provided FOX31 with the following reminders:
- Carts that are overfilled, stuffed or too heavy cannot be emptied
- All trash must be inside the cart, and overflow trash cannot be collected
- To report illegal dumping, call 311
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