Mead seniors Matthew Angelo and Kyler Crump wore the hurt on their faces following the Mavericks’ first-round loss in the Class 5A postseason Friday night.

The once scream-level energy inside Mead High School’s gym had depleted to a murmur in the wake of the 10th-seeded Mavericks’ 65-48 loss to No. 23 Lewis-Palmer. Though, it didn’t send Angelo and Crump immediately to the sanctuary of their locker room.

They weren’t quite ready.

Both made sure to connect with family and friends who’d made their way on the court to show their appreciation after the loss. Angelo obliged to pose for photos while holding a piece of paper that recognized his 1,000 career points. He crossed the milestone in the first quarter of what would be his last high school game.

“You can’t be sad it’s over. You have to be glad it happened. That’s what’s going through my mind,” said Angelo, who scored a game-high 24 points in the loss.

The season was a special one, both he and Crump made it clear. And the ending was that much tougher because of it.

Mead (14-10) got a tough opening-round draw in Lewis-Palmer (12-12), which had lost its final five games of the regular season and dipped under .500. But L-P is still L-P, a proud hoops program that has won two state titles under coach Bill Benton since 2019 and has now clinched a spot in the round of 16 for a fifth straight season.

“Each experience is a new one for this group. We have five seniors. We have guys that have been on varsity and guys who’ve been in the program through a lot of things,” he said. “But this is the first time for a lot of these guys to be heavily involved in these games. Late in the game. And now, it falls on your shoulders to produce. And so that doesn’t just come overnight.”

The Rangers’ under-.500 record may have been something of a mirage. They fumbled a late lead in a one-point loss to two-time defending champion Mesa Ridge in December, and they split their two-game season series with No. 5 Discovery Canyon in the 5A/4A Pikes Peak League.

On Friday, they didn’t have an answer for the Mavericks early. Especially Angelo, who came out aggressive, scoring 11 of his team’s first 13 points.

L-P simply stuck around — even as its efficiency from the field was lacking in the first half. It rallied back to tie things at 11 in the first quarter before capping the second on a 13-7 run to get within 28-27 at the break.

Then it took over.

Tommy Perez’s 3-pointer in the opening moments of the third gave L-P its first lead of the night and spurred a 19-6 spurt that put the visitors in control. Cole Hughes helped put things away in the fourth, scoring six of his team-high 17.

Hughes was 7 of 8 from the free throw line and the Rangers were 20 of 24. Jacob Lowe added 16 points and Perez had 13 as L-P outscored Mead 38-20 after the break.

Mead was just 6 of 8 from the stripe. Angelo and Crump combined for 35 of the team’s points and five of its six 3s.

“It was (a season) to remember for sure,” said Crump, who finished with 11 points. “It’s a lot of best friends. Everybody is best friends. We’re all playing together. I wouldn’t give it up for anything. Win or lose, make the playoffs, don’t make the playoffs, all that, these are my brothers.”

Three teams from the St. Vrain Valley School District made the round of 32 in the 5A bracket. Only No. 11 Longmont remains, with Mead and No. 17 Frederick falling in the round of 32.