DENVER >> Wednesday marked the first time in the state quarterfinals for Prospect Ridge’s boys basketball program.

So much for Julius Caesar’s whole “experience is the best teacher” sermon.

Led by red-hot shooting from underclassmen Jackson Brandt and Josiah Bote, the Class 4A fourth-seeded Miners showcased a team that looks more than just content in being at the Denver Coliseum.

Their wire-to-wire, 87-64 win over No. 5 Fort Lupton moves them into Friday’s semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of No. 1 Kent Denver and No. 25 The Academy.

“We talked about the arena and how big it’s going to feel,” said PRA coach Scott Iten, who, in an attempt to inspire, showed his team Gene Hackman’s speech on the importance of focus from the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” “Of course, they haven’t seen that movie. So …,” he chuckled. “But really for them, it’s about how much they like each other and how much they want to play hard for each other.”

Brandt hit four 3-pointers, tying his career high with 26 points. It’s the third time he’s hit that mark this winter. Bote added five 3s and 22 points, the best scoring output of his freshman campaign.

Afterward — and once Miners players finished posing for pictures alongside their student section in the Coliseum stands — senior leader and veteran Liam Schilling praised the team’s sophomore and freshman standouts.

“Just two special players,” he said. “I feel like, in this game last year, it would have been a different story. I would have had to take way more shots.”

Seniors Schilling and Travis Agbosse lead the team in points this season, both averaging around 14 per game. But their roles as scorers took a back seat Wednesday, with Agbosse finishing with 10 points and Schilling nine. “We’re so much better that we can spread the ball, and we can all score,” Schilling said.

Against Fort Lupton — a team that beat PRA in the regular season — Brandt led an offensive onslaught from the outset. He scored seven straight in the game and nine in row for his team as part of the Miners’ 23-5 opening run. PRA led by as many as 18 in the first quarter.

Bote had a pair of 3s in both the second and third quarters, and the Miners’ lead extended to as many as 34 in the fourth.

“Our coach says it every day. We just got to be us,” Brandt said. “Just continue to do what we do. We’re on a good run right now. We just got to keep it up.”

The Miners had to wait until Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal to see which Metro League foe — No. 1 Kent Denver or No. 25 The Academy — they’ll face for the second time this season. PRA (20-6) beat The Academy by 28 points in January and lost to the Sun Devils by 19 in February.