DENVER – Mesa Ridge showed Northfield why it’s unwise to poke the Grizzlies, bears or any version of the animal.

The Grizzlies won their 5A semifinals contest 70-59 against the Nighthawks on Thursday to advance to their second consecutive title game at Denver Coliseum.

“I’m excited,” Tanner Widic said. “If we go out there and do our jobs, we can get it done. So I’m excited to be back.”

Not that the Grizzlies required motivation to win, but the Nighthawks offered it in the form of a shove 40 seconds into the game.

Northfield’s Justus Michael pushed Bryce Riehl after an early foul and officials separated the players.

Riehl proceeded to scorch the Nighthawks.

“If they wanted to do that, we knew what we were going to do,” Riehl said.

The Grizzlies junior poured in 10 points in the first on 4-of-5 shooting including a 3-pointer from 30 feet at the buzzer to build a 21-14 lead after one.

But Tevin Riehl and Tanner Widic each missed a portion of the first quarter and all the second after both Grizzlies picked up their second fouls in the opening period.

No matter, Riehl continued to cook the Nighthawks.

Northfield cut the lead to 34-33 at the end of the first, but Riehl scored seven in the second to keep the Grizzlies in the game while the senior duo sat.

“I knew I had to step up,” Riehl said. “(Tevin) and Tanner were gone and I knew I had to step up, do my part to keep us in this game.”

Riehl added: “It was really nice to see Bryce step up because I know what he can do. Bryce pulling from NBA range and seeing that go in was cool. I was getting hyped for him.”

After Mesa Ridge edged out Northfield 16-15 in the third, the Grizzlies entered the fourth with a 50-48 lead.

Then, the Grizzlies proceeded to host an offensive and defensive clinic.

Riehl, who had six points through three quarters, scored the first six of the frame and added 15 in the fourth to finish with 21.

“That was confidence from my brother,” Riehl said of his fourth-quarter performance. “He told me to keep shooting even though we both weren’t shooting well in the second half. Confidence from him helps me every time.”

The Grizzlies used an 11-4 run to build 61-52 lead with 3:10 left in the game and the Nighthawks never shrank the gap to less than 8.

Widic, who finished the game with 11 points, checked Michael in the second half after the Grizzlies senior sat in the second.

After scoring 10 in the second quarter, Michael scored 10 all of the second half with Widic on him.

Any bucket the Nighthawks senior scored, he worked like a part-time job to get.

“We just take it one play at a time,” Widic said. “We know if we have that approach, we can get anything done.”

Mesa Ridge has not allowed a team to score more than 60 points on its defense in more than a month.

Only three opponents have scored 60 or more on Mesa Ridge this season and the Grizzlies last allowed a team to reach 60 points on Jan. 17 when they beat Harrison 87-62.

The Grizzlies face Windsor at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday in the title game at Denver Coliseum.

Windsor, which is 23-4 and earned the No. 3 seed, averages 65.8 points per game, but scored 35 in its win against Vista Peak Prep in the Final Four.

For Riehl, after failing to reach the title game in his freshman and sophomore years at Mesa Ridge, the senior said he’s grateful to have the opportunity to help bring Mesa Ridge back-to-back championships.

“It’s a blessing,” Riehl said. “We have a coach like (Joel) Babbitt who pushes us every day. He’s the best coach in Colorado.”