At some point Sunday, the red-hot Severance boys basketball team will know exactly where it sits within the Class 5A state tournament bracket.
Odds are, it will be a top 3 seed with a possible path toward claiming the first boys hoops title in school history.
But senior forward Damarii Wright and the Silver Knights are unlikely to focus on the number that sits just left of their name on the bracket.
Severance players walk out to the court before a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)They’ll be much more focused on the potential opponents that sit just right of their name on the bracket.
All season, Severance has kept its sights set straight ahead, as focused as can be.
“Every practice is competitive; sometimes practice is even more competitive than the games we play,” Wright said. “It just shows the hunger that we have, wanting to go after that state title. I think we can do it this year, if we keep our heads down, don’t look at the seeding. If we just go out there and play our game and not let other teams speed us up, we’re going to be gold.”
Severance's Damarii Wright (1) puts up a shot during a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The Silver Knights entered their regular season finale Saturday afternoon against Greeley Central with a 19-3 record and a 12-game win streak. With an 82-39 home win against Northridge on Thursday, Severance assured itself a league title for the third consecutive season.
But the Silver Knights’ ambitions are much greater.
After the 16 lowest-seeded teams square off in play-in games Tuesday to flesh out the 32-team bracket, the state tournament will proceed with second-round games Friday.
Severance's Brett Varney (24) puts up the ball during a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The first couple rounds have presented a bit of a bugaboo for Severance.
In 2003, the ninth-seeded Silver Knights lost on a buzzer-beater, 62-61, to No. 8 Colorado Academy in the Round of 16.
A year later, Severance lost at home as the eighth seed, 57-53, to No. 9 DSST: Green Valley Ranch in the second round.
Severance players and head coach Chad Salz pray together before a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)A year ago, the Silver Knights were again the eighth seed, and they fell in the opening round, 47-40, to No. 25 Sand Creek.
As undeniably successful as Severance’s boys hoops program has been throughout the school’s seven-year existence, senior shooting guard Blake Varney said he and the rest of the Silver Knights’ senior-led roster are dead set on taking the program deeper in the postseason than it has ever been before.
The young program has never advanced further than the Round of 16.
Severance's Blake Varney (5) puts up a shot during a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)“Most of us have been playing varsity at least for two or three years, and we’ve all experienced some tough playoff losses,” Varney said. “We’re done losing. … We’ve yet to honestly prove anything in the playoffs. So we have a lot to prove, and we will prove it. We will get to the Denver Coliseum (with at least a quarterfinals run) and make some noise.”
Varney is averaging the second most points per game (15.3) on the balanced team behind sophomore Christian Powell (16.9 ppg). Varney surpassed the 1,000-careet-point mark during the Silver Knights’ big win Thursday against Northridge.
Even though Severance’s battled-tested players use the difficult past playoff losses as motivation, they still refuse to dwell on the past as they look straight forward at what the next few weeks may bring.
Severance head coach Chad Salz talks to his team before a basketball game against Northridge at Severance High School in Severance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)On Thursday during Senior Day, Silver Knights coach Chad Salz decided to have all five of his seniors start in the dominant win against Northridge.
During this final stretch of the season, he hopes his senior-heavy squad can now finish what they’ve started over the past few years.
“They’ve been a part of the failures we’ve had the past couple years, and they don’t want to feel that again,” Salz said. “It’s great having five seniors who have been there, played for me. They know where we need to be. They know our goal. We regularly talk about our goals, about what we want to do.”
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