When Rampart’s Theodore Wilson juked a Cheyenne Mountain player and left him in the dust as he drove to the basket for a monster jam, it was the loudest play of the evening. The third-quarter dunk brought “ooohs, ahhhs,” and applause from the visiting crowd at Cheyenne Mountain on Tuesday, but Wilson’s biggest play was much more mundane. The senior hit a midrange jumper late in the fourth quarter to break a tie and help push the Rams to a 73-67 win over the Red-Tailed Hawks.  At the time, Wilson’s dunk had all the makings of a knockout blow. Up to that point in the third quarter, Rampart (9-1) controlled the game with a dominant offense. The Rams would force the Hawks to play flawlessly to keep up, but then cruelly extended their lead in moments. Like a horse chasing a carrot,  Cheyenne Mountain (8-2) would fall 7-to-10 points behind, would have to then slow the game down, play solid defense, and cut into the deficit bucket by bucket, only to watch the visitors pull ahead once more. In the first half, the Hawks came back from 7-2, 21-11 and 31-24. Rampart extended the lead each time.  If Cheyenne Mountain fouled, the Rams would score points at the free-throw line. Turned the ball over? The Rams scored in transition. Gave a guard too much space on the perimeter? Three-pointer incoming.  “We have so many weapons, we don’t need to settle for bad shots because we’re just going to take what the defense gives us and we have too many people that are too skilled to settle for bad shots,” Rams coach Robert Brown said. “When they realize that all five of those guys can eat and every one of them can make shots, we’re tough to guard.” Down 42-32 entering the third period, the Hawks were hot to start with two 3-pointers from seniors Rhys Thuman and Sonny Hunt. Even so Rampart’s offense kept humming. Wilson’s dunk made it 56-44 Rams midway through the quarter, and with the visitors playing with all the momentum, they seemed poised to put the game away for good.  “It was great. I definitely saw the rim, eye-to-eye with the rim so it was just great. Brought my team some energy. That’s all I need,” Wilson said.  It was a phenomenal play from Wilson, but the Hawks didn’t let the moment define them. Cheyenne Mountain began driving to the basket and drawing fouls and junior leading scorer Alex Treglia was finding his stroke. The hosts trailed 59-51 to start the fourth quarter but went on an 11-3 run to tie the game at 62. Hawks sophomore Dennis Gutierrez hit a big shot from beyond the arc, and scored on a fadeaway jumper to tie the game.  On the other end, the Rams went cold. The layups and open looks stopped falling, but Rampart has a saying per Brown, “Adversity leads a team to its true character.” The Rams stayed true to form.  Following Gutierrez’s game-tying jumper, Wilson snapped the cold streak with his jumper. Almost as if someone had turned the power back on, senior Isaiah Melecio drilled a shot from deep to give the Rams a 69-64 lead. “Consistency. Just keep getting the ball up and my teammates trusting in me to keep putting those shots up. It’s things that we work on in practice and the trust that we build during practice,” Melecio said.  Rampart senior captain Elias Bishop sunk a pair of free throws as Cheyenne Mountain was forced to foul to put the game out of reach.  “We’re a team that can finish, we’re a team that knows how to win a close game and that’s what they proved tonight,” Brown said. “Elias, when he’s at the line, I just love that. I can almost guarantee these ones are going in.” Rampart had a 14-10 season last year after going 9-14 in 2023-2024. Now, the Rams have grown into a force to be reckoned with.  “We’ve been with each other for many years, and we’ve known each other for a very long time. We know a lot of our tendencies and I think just having that time and understanding everything about each other is what really helped us,” Melecio said.  ...read more read less