2A/1A LOWER PLATTE: Caliche meets Haxtun on Friday and that outcome will determine the conference championship.  The Buffs lead the Bulldogs by one game in the league standings so a Caliche win gives them the crown.  A Haxtun win could create up to a four-team tie for the championship with Yuma and Akron with all teams finishing at 6-2.  Yuma has already finished up their conference schedule while Akron is favored to beat Merino.  Wiggins (5-3) is currently in fifth place.

2A/1A WESTERN SLOPE: Meeker has clinched the league championship and will be the #1 seed for next week’s district tournament.  Hayden is tied with Plateau Valley in second place with Plateau Valley having the tiebreaker based on the head-to-head win.  Hayden finishes up with Vail Mountain and will be favored to post a win.  Plateau Valley is much busier with games against Paonia on Friday and DeBeque the next night.  The Cowboys also face Ouray in non-league play on Thursday.

2A/1A UNION PACIFIC: Byers and Limon have a critical game on Friday but regardless of the outcome, Burlington will be the league champion.  The Cougars have finished their conference schedule at 5-1 while Byers and Limon are both 5-1.  Since Burlington has beaten both teams, they have the tiebreaker over the winner whether it’s Byers or Limon.  Stratton and Deer Trail play on Friday to determine the top 1A team.

2A SANTA FE: Rye enters the weekend with a three game lead and already knowing they are the conference champions.  Las Animas picked up a win over Fowler on Tuesday ending their league schedule at 10-4.  That decision also means that Rocky Ford and Crowley County have to win out to tie the Trojans in second place.  Rocky Ford (8-4) is at Swink on Thursday and then meets John Mall the next night. Even if they catch Las Animas, the Meloneers lose the tiebreaker since they lost both games to the Trojans in league play.  Crowley County (9-4) blew past Swink last night but is home to Rye on Thursday.  If Rye wins that game and Rocky Ford wins their final two, then Las Animas is #2, Rocky Ford is #3 with Crowley County #4.

2A BLACK FOREST: Peyton has clinched the championship and Calhan will be the second place team.  Evangelical Christian and Colorado Springs are tied for third with the Kodiaks having the tiebreaker because of last week’s win over the Eagles.  Colorado Springs though has a more difficult schedule.  They finish with Peyton while Evangelical Christian closes with Vanguard.

2A SOUTHERN PEAKS: Sanford has clinched the league championship with Custer County and Del Norte in good shape for second and third.  Custer County has two league games remaining with La Veta (Thursday) and Sargent (Friday) while Del Norte also tangles with Sargent on Thursday.  If the Bobcats and Tigers win their final three combined games, they’ll finish second and third.  If not, Sargent, La Veta and even Sangre De Cristo get into the mix for spots three through six.  With so many head-to-head matchups remaining, there are several scenarios remaining.

2A MILE HIGH: Unbeaten Denver Christian handed Resurrection Christian their only loss of the season in a 65-46 decision last month but we believe that contest was a non-league game leaving both teams unbeaten in conference play.  The Crusaders and Cougars meet again on Friday with the winner nabbing the conference championship.

2A/1A SAN JUAN: Ignacio has clinched the league championship and Norwood needs just one win to secure place.  They should get that win on Ouray on Friday since they won the first matchup 60-21.  Ridgway is in great shape to finish third.

1A BLACK FOREST: The top three spots are already determined as Simla is the conference champion with Elbert number two and Pikes Peak Christian third.  Elbert and Pikes Peak Christian meet on Friday but that outcome has no bearing on the conference race or district seeding.

1A NORTH CENTRAL: Pawnee has finished their conference slate at 9-1 meaning co-leader Fleming must win twice this weekend to keep their share of first place.  The Wildcats meet Prairie on Thursday and then Peetz on Friday and wins in both will push them to 9-1 as well.  At this point, we’re unsure how that tie will be broken for district tournament seeding but they will be one-two in the bracket.  The loser though will be in the same side of the bracket as the top 1A team from the Lower Platte which will be either Caliche or Haxtun.  Peetz has locked up third place and Prairie fourth but each team has a chance this week to spoil Fleming’s championship hopes.

1A HIGH PLAINS: The key game is Friday between McClave and Kit Carson.  McClave currently leads the conference and earns the championship with a win.  If Kit Carson springs the upset and Cheyenne Wells also beats Eads, then McClave, Kit Carson and Cheyenne Wells share first place.  If McClave and Cheyenne Wells win, they’re one-two with Kit Carson sliding to third.

1A ARK VALLEY: Walsh secured the league championship by beating Springfield last Tuesday but despite that loss, the Longhorns are still locked into second place.  Holly beat Granada for a second time this season on Tuesday and that handed third place to the Wildcats.  Granada will settle for fourth.

1A YWKC: Hi Plains has won the championship but Woodlin took a major step to second place by downing Bethune on Tuesday night.  The Mustangs can clinch the spot with another win over Otis on Friday.  If that happens, Otis and Bethune collide on Saturday to determine fourth.  A three-way tie for spots two through four is still possible.

1A SOUTHERN PEAKS:  Not many dramatics here as Sierra Grande is the conference champion and they won the title with ease beating second place Cotopaxi by 30 points last month.  Centennial and Primero are battling for third and fourth with the winner gaining the nice advantage of being placed opposite of Sierra Grande in the district tournament bracket.

1A 5280: The top four positions are set with Shining Mountain the number one team followed by Denver Jewish Day, Community Christian and Gilpin County.

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SEEDING NOTES

1A DISTRICT ONE: The only left to decide is the top 1A team from the Western Slope.  That’s a battle between Plateau Valley and Vail Christian and games this weekend will decide the order.  There’s a lot at stake as the winner gets a bye into the quarterfinals and needs only one win to reach the regional tournament.  The loser must play in a first round game next Thursday but will also be placed on the same side of the bracket as San Juan #1 1A seed Norwood.

1A DISTRICT TWO: McClave has clinched the top seed and Cheyenne Wells earns the number two seed if they beat Eads on Friday.  Kit Carson and Granada are tied for third right now with Kit Carson having the tiebreaker edge but Granada has the easier schedule.  They face Cheraw while Kit Carson must tangle with Cheyenne Wells.  If Cheyenne Wells and Granada both win, then the Bobcats jump ahead of Kit Carson in the seeding despite a loss to the Wildcats in mid-January.

1A DISTRICT THREE: The top three seeds are already determined with Walsh #1, Springfield #2 and Holly #3.  Since no other team within the district has more than three wins, it’s a good bet the Eagles, Longhorns and Wildcats will be the three regional qualifiers.

1A DISTRICT FOUR: Fleming needs two wins this weekend to tie Pawnee for the North Central championship and if they get it, the two teams will be seeded one-two in the district tournament bracket. Pawnee would likely get the edge for the top seed based on a better overall record but that’s not official at this point.  The winner of Friday’s game between Haxtun-Caliche will get the third seed with the loser dropping to fifth.  Peetz is the fourth seed.

1A DISTRICT FIVE: This race is exactly the same as the YWKC race.  Hi Plains has wrapped up the #1 seed and Woodlin can secure the second spot by beating Otis on Friday.  If that happens, then Otis and Bethune face off on Saturday to determine spots three and four.

1A DISTRICT SIX: Sierra Grande is the top seed with Cotopaxi number two.  Centennial and Primero are battling for third and fourth with the winner having the advantage of being opposite unbeaten Sierra Grande in the district bracket.

1A DISTRICT SEVEN: Since the district is a combination of the Black Forest and Union Pacific leagues, there are two races to review.  The Black Forest is set as Simla is the champion with Elbert second and Pikes Peak Christian third.  Stratton and Deer Trail meet this Friday to determine the top spot in the Union Pacific.  The winner gets placed on the opposite side of the bracket from Simla while the loser could battle the Cubs in the semi-finals.

1A DISTRICT EIGHT: The top four seeds are set with Shining Mountain #1, Denver Jewish Day #2, Community Christian #3 and Gilpin County #4.

2A DISTRICT ONE: Sanford has clinched the championship with Custer County and Del Norte in good position for second and third.  Custer County has league games remaining with La Veta and Sargent while Del Norte also tangles with Sargent to close the season.  If Custer County and Del Norte win those three combined games, the Bobcats are #2 with the Tigers #3.  If a loss occurs, then Sargent, La Veta and Sangre De Cristo get into the mix for spots three through six.  With such a crowded race and so many remaining head-to-head matchups, there are too many scenarios to review completely.

2A DISTRICT TWO: Akron has wrapped up the number one seed and Yuma is the number two seed.  Burlington has the inside track to the third seed as they have a better overall record than the third place team in the Lower Platte.  That leaves Holyoke and Wiggins to battle for fourth and fifth.  Those two teams appear to be matched up in a quarterfinal game but the higher seed gets to play at home which would serve as a nice advantage.  Wray is still in the mix for the fifth seed as well while Sedgwick County will be the seventh seed.

2A DISTRICT THREE: With a perfect 8-0 mark against district opponents, Ignacio is the #1 seed for the tournament and will face the winner of the 4^th and 5^th seed game in the tournament semi-finals.  Ridgway and Dolores have a key game this Friday and that outcome will help decide second and third.  Ridgway also plays Mancos as well.  Mancos appears to be solid as the fourth seed with Telluride #5.

2A DISTRICT FOUR: This will be a very competitive district as Denver Christian and Lutheran both have state tournament aspirations.  Denver Christian has nailed down the top seed while Front Range Christian will be the second seed.  Lutheran comes in as the #3 seed from the 3A Metro and will challenge Front Range in the semifinals.  Nederland and Denver Academy are the fourth and fifth seeds.

2A DISTRICT FIVE: Meeker has clinched the top seed for the six team bracket and will receive a bye into the semi-finals.  Hayden looks good for the number two seed while Paonia could end up as the third seed and West Grand fourth.  There are still several games on tap this weekend that will impact the rundown.

2A DISTRICT SIX: The district seeds reflect the Santa Fe conference standings so Rye is the number one seed with Las Animas in-line for the second seed.  If Rye beats Crowley County this weekend, then Las Animas is the number two seed with Rocky Ford likely third and Crowley County fourth.  That’s providing the higher seeded teams win the remaining conference games on tap through Saturday.

2A DISTRICT SEVEN: Regardless of how they end up with top ranked Denver Christian this weekend, Resurrection Christian is the #1 seed for the district event.  Heritage Christian should be the #2 seed with Alexander Dawson #3.  No other team is expected to challenge for the district crown as Dayspring Christian, Longmont Christian and Union Colony Prep are all well below 500 for the season.

2A DISTRICT EIGHT: Peyton is the number one seed as they wrapped up the top spot by beating Evangelical Christian on Monday.  Limon also scored a huge win over Calhan on Tuesday and that result means the Badgers cannot finish lower than third in the district.  They’re tied with Byers for second place and those two Union Pacific rivals face off on Friday night to determine second and third.  The actual outcome means little as both will be on the same side of the bracket and could square off again in the semi-finals next week.  Limon also has a game with Evangelical Christian on Saturday but that game will impact the Badger’s standing in the district.  Despite the loss to Limon, Calhan has locked up fourth place and will be at home in the quarterfinals next week.  The Bulldogs lead Evangelical Christian and Colorado Springs by one game and have beaten both teams so they have fourth place sewn up.  Colorado Springs and Evangelical Christian both have four district losses with the Kodiaks winning the head-to-head battle.  ECA plays Vanguard and Limon this week while Colorado Springs must face Peyton.  If Peyton beats CS then ECA can move into fifth with two wins.  Splitting those two games drop the Eagles to sixth and facing a first round matchup with either Limon or Byers in the quarterfinals.

The complete schedule can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com and final scores will be posted there as well. Results can be sent to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call to 866.534.6257

CLASS 5A

The Centennial battle between Arapahoe and Grandview is the most attractive but at best it serves as a post-season tune-up for the Warriors.  They’ve already locked up the conference crown but could use a win to stay in line for a possible top four post-season seed.  Grandview is tied with Cherry Creek for second place and faces the Bruins on Wednesday so the next three days will determine if they finish second or third.  Grandview beat Cherry Creek 66-65 in the first meeting.  Another key game can be found in the City League as Kennedy (4A) faces Lincoln.  Those two are tied with George Washington and Montbello in a crowded race for second behind league champion Denver East.

CLASS 4A

Sterling has locked up the Tri Valley title but Frederick is still trying to chase down Windsor for second place.  The Warriors must go to Sterling tonight before facing the Wizards tomorrow.  Since they trail Windsor by one game, they must upset the Tigers to have a realistic chance at finishing second.  If they lose tonight, Frederick’s only chance at second place is to win their final with Windsor losing their final two games.  The Jeffco quarterfinals are tonight as well.  Top seeded D’Evelyn entertains Arvada, 2^nd seeded Valor Christian is home to Wheat Ridge while Golden goes to Green Mountain and Elizabeth challenges Evergreen.

CLASS 3A

Platte Valley has a huge game with Eaton tomorrow night but before facing the Reds, the Broncos put their eight game winning streak on the line against Weld Central.  Even with a loss tonight, the Broncos can end up second in the Patriot by beating Eaton tomorrow night but losses in both drop them into a possible five team logjam in the race for third.   Weld Central is one of the teams battling for at least a fourth place finish and could use a win over a team ahead of them in the standings.

CLASS 2A

Coming off a huge win over Limon on Saturday, 2^nd ranked Peyton looks to wrap up the number one seed in District Eight against Evangelical Christian this evening.  The Panthers lead Limon and Byers by one game in the district standings and since they have wins over both teams, a win tonight gives them the top seed.  Even with a loss tonight, Peyton can still get the number one spot by beating Colorado Springs later in the week.  Evangelical Christian is currently fifth in the standings and would have to play on the road in the quarterfinals unless they can squeeze into the top four.  They trail fourth place Calhan by one game.  Both ECA and Calhan have games remaining with Limon.

CLASS 5A

CENTENNIAL: Arapahoe has already clinched the championship.  With their 11-game winning streak, the Warriors have opened a wide three game margin over second place Cherry Creek and Grandview.  Grandview has the most difficult week as they play Arapahoe on Monday in a make-up game before challenging Cherry Creek on Wednesday.  Grandview edged Cherry Creek 66-65 so if they lose to Arapahoe, they can still get back into second by beating the Bruins two nights later.

CITY: Denver East has clinched the league championship as they have a two game lead on George Washington, Kennedy, Lincoln and Montbello with just one conference game to play.  The Angels should cruise by Denver West on Friday but will get better tests with Chatfield (Monday) and Highlands Ranch (Saturday).  Kennedy has a win over Montbello, but lost to George Washington and goes to Lincoln on Monday in the most important game of the final week.

CONTINENTAL: By beating Highlands and Chaparral on back-to-back Friday’s, Regis now controls the race and enters the final week alone in first.  They lead Chaparral by one game in the league standings and can clinch the championship by beating either Littleton on Tuesday or Douglas County on Thursday.  Chaparral is by themselves in second but faces a strong test with Highlands Ranch on Tuesday but can clinch the runner-up spot with a win in that game.  Highlands Ranch is tied with ThunderRidge in third and because of last Friday’s loss to the Grizzlies may have trouble finishing in the top three.  They also have a difficult schedule with league games against Chaparral and Mountain Vista along with a date with 2^nd ranked Denver East this week.

CS METRO: Fountain Fort Carson wrapped up the conference crown with their 66-59 win over Liberty last Friday.  It was their ninth straight win and gave them a two game edge with two to play.  They visit Doherty on Tuesday and then host Rampart on Friday.  Despite the loss to Fountain Fort Carson, Liberty can clinch second by beating either Pine Creek on Tuesday or Palmer on Friday.

EAST METRO: Aurora Central has a one game advantage on both Rangeview and Prairie View but since they’ve beaten both teams, the Trojans are in great shape.  In fact they clinch the championship by beating either Fort Lupton on Tuesday or Adams City on Thursday.  The Trojans will be heavily favored in both as they’ve won 10 straight games.  Rangeview and Prairie View collide on Thursday to determine second place.

FRONT RANGE: Fairview has already clinched the title as they have a two game edge and a win over second place Fossil Ridge with two conference games remaining.  The Knights, who have games with Horizon and Boulder in the final week, can now focus on finishing the conference schedule unbeaten and the regular season with 22 straight wins.  They defeated both the Hawks and Panthers by at least 11 points in the first meetings.  Fossil Ridge is locked into second.  They close at Loveland Tuesday before hosting Rocky Mountain on Friday.  There’s a logjam for third as Loveland, Rocky Mountain, Poudre and Monarch all sit at 9-5.  Monarch has the easiest remaining schedule as Loveland and Rocky Mountain must both face Fossil Ridge while Rocky Mountain also faces Poudre on Tuesday.  Monarch finishes league play at home against Boulder on Tuesday and at Legacy on Friday.

JEFFCO: Despite snapping a ten game winning streak with their two point loss to Ralston Valley, Columbine remains in sole possession of first place.  The Rebels lead the Mustangs and Chatfield by one game entering the final six days of the season.  Columbine and Chatfield hook up on Friday in a very important game.  The Rebels also meet Bear Creek and Arvada West so it’s a busy final week for them.  They win the title outright by winning their final three games regardless of what else happens but Chatfield can create a three-way tie for the lead should they upset the Rebels.  Ralston Valley finishes up with Dakota Ridge on Wednesday before going to Arvada West on Friday.

SOUTHWEST: The championship won’t be decided until Friday night when Fruita Monument and Montrose (4A) square off.  Both teams are 7-1 in conference play with Fruita gaining a win in the first meeting (60-48).  Grand Junction was in the championship picture until a costly loss at Durango last week dropped them two games back with only two to play.  That means the Tigers must beat Montrose on Tuesday to keep their slim hopes alive.  Even if Grand Junction upsets the Indians, they’ll be eliminated from the chase on the same night if Fruita Monument beats Grand Junction Central as expected.  If Montrose loses to Grand Junction and then beats Fruita on Friday, the Indians and Wildcats will share the championship.

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CLASS 4A

CS METRO: With last Friday’s hard fought 45-42 win over Sierra, Lewis Palmer gained sole possession of first place.  They also gained an additional game on third place Coronado when the Cougars were upset by Cheyenne Mountain on the same night.  Lewis Palmer and Coronado face off Friday night in a game twice delayed by weather but if the Rangers beat Mitchell (Tuesday) and Vista Ridge (Thursday) as expected, that game will have no bearing on the championship race.  Lewis Palmer would have clinched the title by then.  Sierra has a win over Coronado so the Stallions are in good shape to finish second.  They go to Vista Ridge on Tuesday and then visit Mitchell on Thursday.  Cheyenne Mountain’s win over Coronado kept them in the chase for fourth.  They’re tied with Wasson and Sand Creek for that spot.  All three are favored to win their final two league games so they could end up in the same position by week’s end.  Wasson faces Woodland Park and Falcon with both games away from home.  Sand Creek plays Air Academy and Mesa Ridge while Cheyenne Mountain meets Palmer Ridge and Discovery Canyon.

JEFFCO: The regular season concluded at mid-week last week with D’Evelyn securing the championship thanks to their two point win over Valor Christian on Wednesday.  The post-season tournament opened on Friday but the top four seeds earned byes to the championship quarterfinals on Monday.  D’Evelyn and Valor Christian of course are the top two seeds with Evergreen third and Green Mountain fourth.  In Monday’s quarterfinals, D’Evelyn meets Arvada, Valor faces Wheat Ridge, Evergreen tangles with Elizabeth and Green Mountain meets Golden.  Championship semi-finals are scheduled for Wednesday with the finals Friday night at 7:30pm.

NORTHERN: Broomfield’s 17-game winning streak has pushed them to the top of the 4A rankings this week and has also earned them the conference championship.  They have just two games remaining but hold an insurmountable three game lead on Longmont and Greeley Central.  The Eagles face Centaurus on Tuesday and then close with Greeley Central in a game that will help determine second place.  Should Broomfield win that game as expected; Longmont takes homes second place by beating Thompson Valley and Silver Creek.  Longmont and Greeley Central split two regular season games so they’ll share second and third if they end up with the same conference record.

SOUTH CENTRAL: At mid-season, it appeared that Pueblo Central would run away with the championship.  They had a two game edge on Pueblo East but with two straight losses, the Wildcats have opened the door for Pueblo East as both teams now share the top spot.  That will change on Tuesday when they square off for the second time this season.  Central won the first meeting 55-54.  If Central is beaten by East, then they’ll need to beat Pueblo Centennial on Friday to hold onto second place if Pueblo West wins their final two games.  Win or lose on Tuesday, Pueblo East has locked up a top two finish since they’ve won both meeting with West.  West gains third by beating either Canon City or Pueblo County.

TRI VALLEY: Sterling has three games remaining but must win only one to clinch the championship.  They’ve beaten second place Windsor twice and have a two game lead on the Wizards.   Sterling entertains Frederick on Monday before facing Northridge and Erie Tuesday and Thursday.  The Monday night game is very important to Frederick.  The Warriors have won six straight and trail Windsor by just one game in the race for second.  They host Windsor on Tuesday but if they lose to Sterling, a win over the Wizards the next night is not enough to gain second place.  If Frederick loses to Sterling on Monday, the only way they get to second place is to win their final two and have Windsor drop their final two.  Windsor also meets Northridge on Thursday.  Fort Morgan and Skyline are tied for fourth (both 5-7).  They collide on Friday in what could turn out to be a very important game.  Both teams are under 500 for the season but we’re guessing at least the winner will get into the state tournament field.  Skyline won the opener 58-57 on January 24^th in Longmont.

WESTERN SLOPE: This might be the most interesting race remaining as Eagle Valley, Delta and Palisade all share first place entering the final week.  All three teams have two league losses and based on the remaining schedule, it appears two teams will end sharing the championship.  The key game is Tuesday night between Delta and Palisade in Grand Junction.  That winner will be in a first place tie with Eagle Valley and the Devils have split two games with each opponent.  Eagle Valley also goes to Glenwood Springs on Friday in the regular season finale while Palisade has a second game at Battle Mountain on Friday as well.  Delta’s game at Palisade is their final contest.

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CLASS 3A

FRONTIER: Clear Creek took a major step to the league title with their two point win over Pinnacle last week.  All the Golddiggers have to do is move past Jefferson on Tuesday night to secure the championship.  They’ll be heavily favored to do so.  Sheridan and Middle Park are tied for second and both are favored to win their final games and if that happens, the Rams will end up second based on their win over Middle Park.  Sheridan is home to Bennett on Tuesday with Middle Park finishing up at Arrupe Jesuit the same night.  Pinnacle is locked into fourth place ahead of their finale with Platte Canyon Monday night.

INTERMOUNTAIN: This race is very easy to figure out.  Pagosa Springs (7-1) has already concluded their league schedule and thus has clinched another league championship as well.  Alamosa and Centauri (both 4-3) are tied for second and they square off on Thursday to determine that spot.  Alamosa won the first game 65-46.

METRO: Since every team in the top six of the standings has proven they can beat up on each other; it’s difficult to predict what might happen in the final week.  With such a crowded race for almost every position and will all the possible tiebreakers, we’re better off to wait until the games are complete instead of predicting what might happen.  Faith Christian opens the week with a one game edge on Manual and Lutheran.  They host Lutheran on Thursday in a very critical game but must also deal with Kent Denver on Tuesday.  The Sun Devils scored a huge win over Machebeuf just last week and seem to getting better down the stretch.  Manual also has a tough game at Peak to Peak on Tuesday before wrapping up at home against Colorado Academy the next night.  In addition to facing four-time defending state champion Faith Christian, Lutheran must also deal with Holy Family so the 2A Lions have plenty of work to do before celebrating a top three finish.  Holy Family and Machebeuf are tied in fourth with three league losses apiece.  Holy Family has just the one matchup with Lutheran while the Buffs face both Jefferson Academy (Tuesday) and Colorado Academy (Thursday).

PATRIOT: Valley has wrapped up the league title so win or lose against Weld Central on Tuesday; they will receive the top trophy.  The Vikings though are in the chase for a top four state tournament seed and don’t want another stumble down the stretch.  Eaton and Platte Valley currently share second place but they collide on Tuesday to determine the runner-up spot.  Platte Valley meets Weld Central n Monday night in a make-up game and should the Broncos win there, they will lock up at least a top three finish.  Eaton finishes second by beating Platte Valley but drops to third with a loss.  With only one game remaining the Reds cannot finish lower than third.  Should Platte Valley lose twice, they get tossed into a four team logjam in the race for fourth.  Currently, Mead (5-4), Brush (5-4) and Weld Central (4-4) share that spot.  Mead has the advantage right now as they’ve beaten both Brush and Weld Central and should get a win over Estes Park at home on Tuesday.  If that happens, the Mavericks are fourth.  Brush goes to Strasburg on Tuesday while as mentioned; Weld Central has a difficult closing stretch against Platte Valley and Valley on back-to-back nights.

TRI PEAKS EAST:  It’s been a great race all season between Dolores Huerta, La Junta and St Mary’s.  The three league leaders have spent much of the campaign beating up on each other but entering the final week, Dolores Huerta has a one game lead on the other two and can clinch the championship by beating Lamar on Tuesday.  They blew past the Savages 75-47 in the first meeting and should post a second win to grab the championship.  La Junta won both meetings with St Mary’s so they have the edge on the Pirates and will take home second place by winning at Ellicott on Tuesday if Dolores Huerta beats Lamar as expected.  Getting to the top two is important as those teams get a bye into the championship quarterfinals while the remaining teams are forced to play a pigtail game.  St Mary’s is home to James Irwin in their finale on Tuesday.

TRI PEAKS WEST: The top four spots have already been determined.  Colorado Springs Christian is the champion with Manitou Springs in second.  Classical Academy has also wrapped up third place.  Buena Vista will end up fourth regardless of how they fare this week as they have a two game lead with two wins over fifth place Florence.  Colorado Springs Christian and Manitou Springs will earn byes into the district quarterfinals while the rest of the division will take part in opening round games on Saturday.

WESTERN SLOPE: Aspen clinched the championship by beating Roaring Fork last Friday.  They finish up the regular season against Basalt and Rifle this Thursday and Friday.  Roaring Fork needs one win in their final two games to wrap up second place.  They host Coal Ridge on Friday before venturing to Rifle the next night.  Olathe (7-4) is in third place despite a loss to Grand Valley last Saturday.  They host Hotchkiss on Tuesday and Gunnison on Thursday and need two wins to officially lock up third place.  They lost to Hotchkiss in the first meeting.  Grand Valley, Coal Ridge and Rifle are all tied for fourth place and the Bears have the most difficult schedule remaining as they must face both Aspen and Roaring Fork on the weekend.  Grand Valley (plays Cedaredge) and Coal Ridge (faces Roaring Fork) split two regular season games but based on scheduling; the Cardinals may have the advantage in the race for fourth.

CLASS 5A

Chatfield at Dakota Ridge (Mon)

Aurora Central at Prairie View (Tues)

#1 Chaparral at #4 Regis (Fri)

#3 Arapahoe vs Cherry Creek (Fri)

#5 Highlands Ranch vs #8 ThunderRidge (Fri)

#7 Columbine vs Ralston Valley (Fri)

#2 Denver East at Montbello (Sat)

NOTES:  For the second straight week, Regis takes center stage in the game of the week in 5A and for the second straight weekend, the three-time defending state champions will try to knock off a number one team.  Last Saturday, the Raiders handed Highlands Ranch their first loss and this Friday, Coach Ken Shaw’s club can take over sole possession of the Continental lead by beating Chaparral.  Both are unbeaten in league action.  Highlands Ranch can move into a second place tie with the loser if they get by ThunderRidge.  A Thunder Ridge win puts the Grizzlies and Falcons into a third place tie.  Arapahoe faces Mullen on Wednesday and if the Warriors win that contest, they can clinch the Centennial crown by beating Cherry Creek on Friday.  They topped the Bruins in the first matchup 69-64.   Columbine starts the week with a two game lead on Chatfield and Ralston Valley in the Jeffco.  That gap doesn’t allow any more losses by either the Chargers or Mustangs.  Ralston Valley can cut the lead in half by beating the Rebels on Friday.  Aurora Central and Prairie View are both unbeaten and share the East Metro top spot. Since Aurora Central has already beaten third place Rangeview, a win over the Thunderhawks should give them the league crown.  Denver East and Montbello are the two remaining unbeaten teams in the City League.

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CLASS 4A

#4 Broomfield at Longmont (Tues)

#3 Valor Christian vs #6 D’Evelyn (Wed)

#8 Coronado vs Cheyenne Mountain (Thurs)

Pueblo West at Pueblo East (Thurs)

#1 Sierra vs #5 Lewis Palmer (Fri)

Kennedy at Lincoln (Fri)

Greeley Central at Longmont (Fri)

NOTES:  Two league championships should be decided this week with heavyweight clashes among top six teams.  On Thursday, 3^rd ranked Valor Christian and 6^th ranked D’Evelyn hook up to determine the regular season Jeffco championship.  They could meet again in the post-season league tournament about ten days later.  Sierra and Lewis Palmer strap it on for their much anticipated battle on Friday.  The teams are a combined 35-1 on the season and both have state championship aspirations.  Both teams are also in line for a top f our tournament seed.  The game features two CU bound seniors going head-to-head in Josh Scott of Lewis Palmer and Wesley Gordon of Sierra.  Coronado, which lost to Sierra last week, looks to rebound against Cheyenne Mountain.  They must win to have any chance of at least sharing the league championship.  The Cougars were scheduled to face Lewis Palmer last week but that game was snowed out.  Longmont has a huge week.  They enter play tied with Greeley Central for second place in the Northern and two games back of first place Broomfield.  They open by hosting their long-time rivals before trying to avenge a crucial loss to Greeley Central on Friday.  Kennedy and Lincoln are battling for a top three finish in the City.  Each has a league loss to 2^nd ranked Denver East (5A).  Pueblo West gave South Central leading Pueblo Central their first league loss last week and now they have their sights set on second place Pueblo East.  East needs a win to stay within one game of first place.

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CLASS 3A

#2 Faith Christian at #10 Peak to Peak (Tues)

Pinnacle at Clear Creek (Tues)

#4 Manual at Lutheran (Tues)

#7 Pagosa Springs at #4 Ignacio (2A) (Tues)

#2 Faith Christian vs #9 Holy Family (Fri)

#10 Peak to Peak vs Lutheran (Fri)

Aspen at Roaring Fork (Fri)

Olathe at Grand Valley (Sat)

NOTES:  Let’s start in the crowded Metro where almost every game from here on out is extremely important.  Faith Christian and Manual (both 4-1) share the lead entering the week with four teams (Machebeuf, Holy Family, Peak to Peak and Lutheran) all a game back.  Manual of course has the tie-breaker over Faith since they beat the Eagles head-to-head so all they have to do is win their remaining games and they will be conference champions regardless of what else happens.  Doing that is easier said than done as the top six teams all have enough talent to beat any other team on a given night.  Faith Christian hopes to get point guard Nathan Rindels back in the lineup after he missed the Manual contest.  He will be greatly needed as the Eagles have difficult games with Peak to Pak and Holy Family on tap this week.   Lutheran also has a difficult week as the defending state champions (2A) must challenge both Manual and Peak to Peak.  Pinnacle has a chance to create a mess in the Frontier.  If the Timberwolves beat Clear Creek, then four teams will share the lead entering the final ten days of the season.  A Clear Creek win almost wraps up the title for the Golddiggers who begin the week with a one game edge on Sheridan, Middle Park and Pinnacle.  They’ve already beaten Sheridan but lost to Middle Park last Thursday.  Roaring Fork trails Aspen by one game in the Western Slope.  The Skiers had a comfortable two game edge before an upset loss to Olathe.  The Pirates stayed alive for the title with the win and now sit tied with Grand Valley in third place making their head-to-head matchup very important to district tournament seeding as well.  The winner could also be within a game of the conference lead if Roaring Fork knocks off Aspen.  Pagosa Springs and Ignacio are former league rivals that battle for a quality non-conference win on Tuesday.  Win or lose, both teams get a good test against a quality opponent late in the season.  Pagosa Springs has clinched the IML crown and Ignacio is in great shape to win another San Juan championship.

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CLASS 2A

#1 Denver Christian vs Heritage Christian (Tues)

#8 Wiggins vs #9 Akron (Tues)

#10 Rye at Rocky Ford (Thurs)

#2 Limon at Burlington (Fri)

#5 Sanford vs Centauri (Fri)

#7 Meeker at Paonia (Fri)

#2 Limon at #3 Peyton (Sat)

#6 Resurrection Christian at Front Range Christian (Sat)

Hayden vs West Grand (Sat)

Vail Christian vs Paonia (Sat)

NOTES:  The top four teams in the Mile High League collide this week as Denver Christian battles Heritage Christian and Resurrection Christian meets Front Range Christian.  DC (6-0) leads Resurrection (5-1) by one game with Heritage Christian, Front Range and Alexander Dawson all tied for third with two league losses.  All teams are chasing Denver Christian which is right now the favorite to land the state championship as well.  Wiggins beat Akron 90-62 in the first meeting so the Rams are looking to avenge that loss and both teams are seeking some momentum for the playoff push that begins in a couple of weeks.  Rye leads Rocky Ford by two games in the Santa Fe so if the Thunderbolts get the win, they clinch at least a tie for the championship and then can wrap it up outright the next night against Swink.  Limon is not only battling for the top seed in District Eight but the unbeaten Badgers also lead Byers, Burlington and Deer Trail by one game in the Union Pacific race.  The Badgers, who play six games in the final two weeks, also has a huge district date with Peyton on Saturday.  Sanford must wait until the final week to meet Sangre De Cristo to officially clinch the Southern Peaks crown but they get high quality non-league test vs Centauri on Friday.  Meeker has nine more wins than Paonia throughout the season but the Cowboys have only a one game edge on the Eagles atop the Western Slope standings.  Paonia has also has a road date to Vail Christian on Saturday so it’s a difficult week for the second place Eagles.  Hayden and West Grand are tied with Plateau Valley in third place so their Saturday contest is equally important.

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CLASS 1A

Cheyenne Wells at McClave (Mon)

#2 Walsh vs #3 Springfield (Tues)

#1 Caliche at Akron (Thurs)

#2 Walsh vs Holly (Thurs)

Haxtun at Yuma (Thurs)

#7 Hi Plains at Cheyenne Wells (Fri)

#7 Hi Plains vs Burlington (Sat)

#8 Simla vs #9 Elbert (Sat)

NOTES:  Good matchups can be found all over the place this week.  Cheyenne Wells and McClave were scheduled to play last week but the winter storm pushed their game back to Monday.  The winner stands alone atop the High Plains conference and is also in line for the top overall district seed.  Walsh and Springfield have the same two items on the line in the Ark Valley and District Three when they meet on Tuesday.  Walsh beat Springfield by 15 points in the semi-finals of the Lamar Holiday Tournament in mid-December.  It’s the Longhorns only loss of the season.  Caliche leads the Lower Platte League by one game over Haxtun and by two games over a host of teams.  Akron is one of them.  The Rams and Buffs both like to push tempo so the first one to 80 may gain the winner.  As mentioned in the 2A report, Akron also has an important game with Wiggins two nights before.  Haxtun plays Caliche in the final week so if the Buffs keep winning, the Bulldogs must do the same to keep pace.  They visit a good bunch of Indians in Yuma on Thursday.  Hi Plains has clinched the YWKC crown but they have a tough stretch to close the season.  In addition to games with Burlington and Cheyenne Wells this week, the Patriots face Simla and Yuma in the final week.  Simla and Elbert face off for the second time this year and a top two seed for the district tournament is up for grabs.  Simla survived for a 55-54 victory in the first meeting and that result separates the two in the Black Forest league.  The conference champion and the number one team from the Union Pacific earn the top two seeds in their district tournament.

Springfield has two difficult games on the slate this week one of which has already taken place.  The Longhorns outlasted Stanton County KS (64-60) in overtime Tuesday night for their ninth straight win.  That victory should give the Longhorns confidence going into next week’s battle with Walsh since Stanton County beat the Eagles earlier in the month.

Before the Longhorns start thinking about Walsh next Tuesday, they must first focus on 6^th ranked Sierra Grande on Friday.  This game was added to the schedule about two weeks ago and should be a good test for both teams.  Springfield of course gets tested on a long road trip against a quality opponent while Sierra Grande gets a chance to say they belong among the state’s elite.

Saul Baker continues to pour in plenty of points for the defending state runners-up.  The senior guard dropped in three three-pointers on his way to a team high 22 points Tuesday night against Stanton County.  He also finished with the same amount in a quality win over Holly the week before.  Baker has scored at least 22 points in three of his last four games and seven times overall pushing his average to nearly 20 a game (19.5).

Michael Crane added a double-double against Stanton County with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Sanchez pulled in nine rebounds.

Of the 14 straight wins posted by Sierra Grande, we would call three of them quality.  The Panthers have beaten Sangre De Cristo twice by a combined 17 points and also topped 3A Centauri 42-39 in the finals of the T-Bird Classic in early December.  Since then it’s been blowout after blowout for the Panthers who are outscoring opponents by nearly 42 points a game.  As mentioned, the matchup with Springfield and a Saturday date with Del Norte provide Sierra Grande with a chance to prove they’re among the best in small school Colorado basketball this year.

Three players score in double figures for Sierra Grande led by Ricardo Howard and his 15 points per game average.  Tomas Vigil (14.6) adds nearly ten rebounds and Adam Gomez (10.7) also hauls in nearly eight boards a game.  Howard averaged over 15 points in the three combined wins over Sangre De Cristo and Centauri while Vigil’s numbers dropped off to nine in the same span.  Gomez, just a sophomore, scored seven points a game against the T-Birds and Falcons.  His season is 21 against Sargent while Vigil has hit 27 twice on the season and also recorded an amazing 22 rebounds in the win over Aguilar.  Howard dropped in 32 against Primero and is coming off a 23-point effort last Saturday against Cotopaxi.

Cheyenne Wells doesn’t face a top ten team this week but the Tigers still have a tough back-to-back against McClave (Friday) and Stratton (Saturday).  Both opponents have routinely gained top ten consideration but have not been consistent enough to earn a spot in the poll.

Cheyenne Wells meantime has won seven straight since consecutive four point losses to Simla and Springfield.  The best wins in that stretch came against Holly (58-35) and Wallace County KS (60-51) last week.  Against Holly, the Tigers jumped out to an 18-2 first quarter lead and then used the free throw line to keep that advantage hitting 21 of 24 for the night.  Matthew Sanders was 11 of 13 in foul shots and finished with a game high 19 points.  Trey Brown was a perfect 11 of 11 from the line and knocked in two three-pointers on his way to 17 points.

In the win over Holly, the team was only six of 11 from the line but hit half their shots from the field (24-48).  Brown led the way with 17 points and Colton Osborn reached double figures for just the second time all season with 13.

Preston White is also having a strong second half.  He scored 10 against Holly and added 12 versus Wallace County giving him five straight games in double figures raising his season average to 8.1.

McClave is 4-2 since the holiday break with quality losses to Holly (41-40) and Springfield (68-54) and four wins against teams with records below 500.  They can change that last fact this weekend as the Cardinals have a chance to take out two ranked teams on consecutive nights.  The two contests will also give them an up-front test to see how they compare against two teams they’ll have to get through to make the state tournament.

Since an 18 point loss to Burlington, Stratton has not lost beating Otis, Kit Carson and Genoa Hugo by a combined 61 points.  The Eagles also meet 2^nd ranked Limon (2A) so they’re in for a tough weekend as well.  Jorge Cruz (12.3) and Kyle May (11.9) are the two main holdovers from Stratton’s back-to-back state tournament teams and they’ve led the squad this season as expected.  May has been better on the offensive end of late with four double figure games in his last five including a season high 25 against Eads.  Cruz last reached double figures (11) in the loss to Byers five games ago.

In addition to the Saturday clash with McClave, Walsh has another road trip next door to Rolla, KS the night before.  The Eagles have posted solid wins over Holly and Granada in the past two weeks and continue to work seven-footer Malachi Jacquart into the rotation.  He has played in the last three games averaging nearly five points and eight rebounds along with two blocked shots.

Out west, Plateau Valley looks to get back into the win column following a disappointing 55-40 loss to Vail Christian last Saturday.  That followed up a solid two point victory over West Grand the night before.  This weekend, the Cowboys are staring at matchups with two good 2A clubs in Hayden (Friday) and Meeker (Saturday).  This is their first meeting with Hayden but Plateau Valley fell to Meeker (59-42) in an earlier meeting.

Better shooting will be needed to reverse the earlier result as the Cowboys hit just 16 of 60 shots in the first game with Meeker.  Teddy Grundy managed 17 points and Tyler Smith 14 in the loss.  Grundy is averaging nearly 24 points a game (23.8) and has reached that level or better in nine of 13 games.  He pushed in 16 against Vail Christian ending a string of four straight games above his average.  In-depth info on their two opponents can be found in the 2A weekly update.

Pawnee suffered just their second regular season loss in the past two years as they fell to Fleming (39-32) on a neutral floor at Northeastern Junior College.  The result left the two teams tied for the North Central lead and since the two have easily handled the remaining league opponents, the tie is likely through the rest of the season.

The Coyotes, who recovered from the loss by beating Peetz 69-55 the next night, scored just seven first half points against Fleming.  Wanting to play an up-tempo game, the Coyotes could only manage 43 shots on the night and hit only two of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.  Fleming attempted 51 shots in a game more liking to their pace and received a great effort from Tanner Serrato (21 points).

Next up for Pawnee is a rematch with Prairie on the road Friday.  The Coyotes drilled the Mustangs in the first game using a 47-11 halftime lead on the way to a 16 point win.  Kevin Shoemaker connected on 10 of 13 attempts to finish with 20 points.  Brye Brunelle added 13.

Since they took out Pawnee, Fleming has a good chance to finish the season at 15-3.  The Wildcats have won three straight since their disappointing result with Caliche and have games remaining with Lone Star, Weldon Valley, Merino, Prairie and Peetz.  They’ll be favored in each one.

The entire schedule for Class 1A can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Final results and district standings are also available there.  Scores can be reported to Colorado Preps by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call at 866.534.6257.

The importance of getting to the top four is the ability to play a quarterfinal game at home.  In such a deep and talented district field, that’s often the difference in a tight game so for teams looking to reach the state tournament, a first round district game at home could turn into a huge advantage.

As mentioned Limon (5-0) and Peyton (3-0) share the district lead with Byers (4-1), Evangelical Christian (3-2), Calhan (4-2) and even Colorado Springs (2-2) are battling for one of those coveted spots.  Games of note that will impact the top of the leaderboard this week have Peyton on the road to Evangelical Christian on Friday and Limon at home against Calhan the next day.

Peyton’s standout forward Ethan Abello scored 33 points and showed off his talents to a standing-room only crowd in the win over Byers.  Averaging 24 points overall, the effort was the fourth time he’s surpassed 30 points in a game.  Kyle Gowen went well above his season average (10.2) by scoring a season 25 points and Chris Epps chipped in 17.  For Gowen, the game continued a recent hot stretch with four straight double figures games with the last two reaching above 20.

The win was the Panthers seventh straight.  If they get by Evangelical Christian on Friday, then their game with Limon a week from Saturday could determine first and second inside the district.  After ECA, the Panthers also have a date with Vanguard on Saturday but will be heavily favored in that one.

Evangelical Christian is coming off a difficult 60-58 district loss to Calhan last Friday.  The game was extremely tight throughout as neither could mount much of an advantage at any point.  Cam Dillavou led the Eagles with 25 points including three treys.  He was also a near perfect 10 of 12 from the foul line.  Vincent Bracket backed up Dillavou with 14 points and also hit six of nine free throws but they were the only two players to attempt a foul shot the entire night.

With losses to Calhan and Byers, the Eagles can probably not take another district loss and still compete for a top two seed especially with future matchups against Limon and Peyton remaining on the schedule.

The Calhan victory kept the Bulldogs (4-2) very much in contention for a top four district seed. In fact the Ric Carothers coached ball-club has the brunt of their district schedule behind.  They deal with Limon on Saturday and if they can upset the 2^nd ranked Badgers, they would only have district games remaining with Miami Yoder and Fountain Valley.  That schedule should leave them among the top four teams in the district again providing they get by Limon this weekend.  In the win over ECA, three players reached double figures led Jack Norris and his 18 points.  Jarrod Cook (12) and Garrett Balsich (10) combined for just 22 points.  As a team, the Bulldogs fired in just one three pointer on 10 tries and converted only nine of 18 foul shots.  Those two categories need to be better against Limon if they wish to spring the upset.

Limon’s district wins are against teams from the lower division so they have plenty of work to do before celebrating a number one seed.  In addition to Calhan this Saturday, the Badgers still must deal with Peyton, Byers and Evangelical Christian in games that will count in the district standings.  Last week, the Badgers worked past Deer Trail (52-42) and Simla (57-45) as they’re also fighting for the Union Pacific league championship.

Against Simla, who was ranked 6^th in Class 1A at the time, the Badgers struggled with shooting (20-51 FG’s) but received a spark off the bench from Logan Stang.  Averaging just 4.5 points for the season, the 5-5 junior sped off the bench for a season high 14 points and was the difference in the game.  His ability to push the tempo and finish on the drive gave the Simla defense fits throughout the game.  Leading scorer Jason Brown (14.2) battled foul trouble against Simla but still managed 13 points.

Byers, which picked up 25 points from Jake Eikleberry against Peyton, didn’t have much energy left after the game and they fell on the road to Burlington Saturday afternoon.  The Burlington outcome could cost the Bulldogs a chance at the Union Pacific crown but did not affect their district standing.  Entering the weekend, they’re alone in first (4-1) and expecting an easy win over Miami Yoder on Saturday.  Byers is off on Friday.

In addition to the important district game with Calhan, Evangelical Christian also has a tall order on Saturday challenging top ranked and unbeaten Denver Christian.  The Crusaders (14-0) are winning by an average of 28 points and have had only two games decided by single digits.  It’s been a very dominating regular season for the team that many experts predicted in the pre-season to win a championship.  Through 14 games, the Crusaders have done nothing to change those predictions.

Austin Lefebre (21.3), Alex Terpstra (15.3) and Connor Kroshus (11.4)  continue to pace Denver Christian offensively.  No other player is scoring more than four points a game so the Crusaders will ride the trio as far as they’ll take them.  Lefebre (50), Terpstra (41) and Kroshus (19) combined for 110 points and gained considerable state tournament experience last year while helping the team earn a consolation championship.

Lefebre has reached double figures in every game including 24 in big wins over Resurrection Christian and Kent Denver.  He dropped in a season best 35 in the win over Sheridan.  Terpstra leads the team with 24 three pointers on the season and has been in double figures in ten straight.  Kroshus has scored between 11 and 14 points in six of the last seven bringing consistency as a third scorer after a slow start to the season.

Out west, Meeker and Hayden look to continue strong play into February.  Hayden collected a sixth straight win on Tuesday outscoring Vail Christian 88-72.  Mark Doolin, with a career high 31 points, paced the high scoring offense but he picked up plenty of help from Paul Laliberte who ended up with 26.  The Tigers scored at least 20 points in every quarter and created a nice 14 point halftime cushion which they held throughout the second half.  Robby Bowles (23) and Fernando Hernandez (22) also had solid efforts for Vail Christian in the loss.

The Tigers will be at home against Plateau Valley on Friday before moving to Paonia for a Saturday date.  They have four games remaining in the regular season including a rematch with West Grand on the 11^th.  The Mustangs are the last team to beat Hayden before their current six game win streak.

Meeker has strung together eight consecutive wins. For the second straight weekend, the Cowboys (12-1) face two 1A opponents with rematches against DeBeque on Friday and Plateau Valley on Saturday.  Meeker blasted DeBeque 77-47 just last Friday and downed Plateau Valley 69-52 earlier in the season.  On the season, the Cowboys are a perfect 5-0 against 1A teams and sit unbeaten against all Colorado teams with a lone loss to Little Snake River Wyoming.

In the first game with Plateau Valley, the Cowboys jumped to an 18-7 first quarter lead and actually built a commanding 26 point advantage (51-25) after three quarters.  Cooper Smith, a 6-4 senior, paced the offense with 22 points including three three-pointers.  He’s coming off a nine point effort in limited minutes against North Park but it snapped a streak of seven straight games in double figures.  His season of 31 came against Paonia and is averaging nearly 20 points for the season (19.6).

Ty Morris chipped in 13 against Plateau Valley and matched the three treys of Smith.  Combined the two players have hit 56 three-pointers overall.  Gable Smith was at third double digit scorer (10) in the first win over Plateau Valley.  The sophomore dropped in a season best 14 against North Park last Saturday and has reached double figures in four of his last six games.

For Plateau Valley to avenge the earlier loss, they will have to shoot better.  In game one, the field goal totals were an ugly 16 of 60.  Teddy Grundy managed 17 points and Kyler Smith added 14 but the Cowboys  were out of the game early.  They’ve won four of five since the loss but are also coming off a disappointing 55-40 loss to Vail Christian last weekend.  Meeker has beaten the Saints twice this year.

Akron and Yuma meet for the second time in two weeks this Saturday.  The Rams downed Yuma 65-55 back on January 21^st.  That win started the current three game winning streak for Akron following a stretch where they dropped two of three.  But the loss may have started a trend for the Indians of struggling in the fourth quarter.  They were outscored by Akron 20-11 in the final eight minutes and then a week later gave up a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter in a difficult loss at Caliche.  They were outscored 28-5 in the fourth in that one.

Sophomore Brady Baer continues to score points at a high level averaging nearly 29 points a game.  He hit nine of 16 shots from the field including an accurate five of six from beyond the arc while totaling 25 points in the first meeting with Yuma.  The Rams also picked up 15 points from Garrett Basler, 13 from Ashton Guy and seven from Andy Mack who also hit two three-pointers on the day.  Second leading scorer Jared Clarkson struggled against Yuma hitting just one of nine shots to finish with two points.

Yuma picked up 20 points from Jaden Campbell and 13 from Matt Bowland in the loss.  They hit eight three-pointers on the night but struggled against the 2-3 Akron zone in the fourth quarter.  They won’t be surprised if they see a similar defense to open the game on Saturday.

Sophomore Jaden Koenig is an up and comer for the Indians.  Averaging 9.9 points off the bench, he ripped of a career high 25 points in the loss to Caliche going eight for 12 from the field.  It was the fifth double figure game for Koenig who provides the Indians with a great spark in a reserve role.

5^th ranked Sanford and Sargent also renew their long rivalry on Saturday.    The Indians moved to 12-2 by beating La Veta 49-41 on Tuesday night.  Sargent sits at 7-6 overall but snapped a two game skid by scoring 115 points in a 60 point win at Cripple Creek.

Sanford (5-0) leads the Southern Peaks chase by one game over Custer County and Sangre De Cristo while Sargent (2-2) is trying to climb closer to the top.  They’re currently tied with Del Norte (4-2) in fourth.  Should Sanford pick up a win, they would be in great shape to land the conference crown and top seed for the district tournament.  The Indians would have beaten all the top challengers except for Sangre De Cristo who they face on the final weekend of the season (Feb. 17^th).

Sangre De Cristo has a tough matchup at home against Del Norte on Friday.  Del norte has won four straight since a tough loss to Custer County and that includes Tuesday’s win over Monte Vista (43-30).  Sangre De Cristo, which snapped a three game winning streak with a 50-39 loss to Custer County last Saturday, must keep winning to stay within range of first place Sanford.  Mitchell Stagner (12.7), JJ Cooley (12.7) and Lance Blades (11.8) provide great offensive balance for the T-Birds and veteran coach Wade Mortensen.  Del Norte, under the direction of Greg Parra, matches the balance with Kaleb Stephens (16.5), Colin Trujillo (13.1) and Austin Imes (13.1)

The entire 2A schedule for each day and each team can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Final scores will also be posted there throughout the season.  Results can be reported to Colorado Preps by text to 970.380.7737, by toll free phone at 866.534.6257 or by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com.

In game one, Colorado Springs Christian didn’t take their first lead until the second overtime as they had to battle back from an early eight point deficit the entire night.  Manitou Springs senior Jesse Megyeri finished with 30 points on the night but he fouled out late in the first overtime and that severely damaged the Mustangs hope in the final minutes.

Another turning point in the game came on a defensive switch at halftime by Lions coach Mark Engesser.  After watching Megyeri score 22 first half points, Engesser switched up and let talented senior Kyle Broekhuis cover the hot shooting guard in the second half and limited him to just eight points.

Broekhuis finished with 22 points offensively on his own and gave great support to Nate Engesser.  The senior guard struggled from the field hitting just eight of 22 shots but still managed a team high 27 points.  He hit 10 of 12 free throws allowing the Lions to keep the lead once they finally gained it in the second overtime.

To avenge that loss, Manitou Springs Coach Ken Vecchio may need more offense from Aaron Malvern.  Malvern is averaging 18 points a game but was limited to just nine in the first meeting.  It’s the only game all season he hasn’t scored in double figures.  He and Megyeri have combined for 97 three pointers on the season.

Since all other league teams have at least three conference losses, the championship will be decided with Tuesday’s outcome.  Colorado Springs Christian of course wins the title outright by sweeping the season series while the Mustangs create a two-team tie for the conference lead by avenging their earlier loss.  Combined the teams are a combined 27-1 on the season and each has been ranked in top five every week.

Last week at this time, three teams shared the Tri Peaks East lead and nothing changed with results over the weekend.  La Junta, Dolores Huerta Prep and St Mary’s all finished up Saturday night with identical 6-2 conference marks.  La Junta suffered the most costly loss.  After moving past Dolores Huerta Prep on Friday, the Tigers fell back into a tie with the Scorpions and St Mary’s by losing to James Irwin (41-39).  Now they focus on the rematch with St Mary’s and hope for a repeat of their 66-56 win in the first meeting.

The first game was almost over in the first quarter as the Tigers jumped to a quick 22-7 lead and held on from there.  Brandon Martinez poured in 32 points and was backed up with 16 points from Zerek Jones.  The rest of the team managed just 18 points.  The Pirates will be looking to rebound from a difficult loss to Dolores Huerta last Saturday that also helped create the three way tie atop the standings.

Dolores Huerta Prep has already played the other two co-leaders twice so if they win out, they will earn a share of the title regardless of what happens between La Junta and St Mary’s this week.  The Scorpions meet Trinidad and Ellicott this Friday and Saturday before closing the season against James Irwin and Lamar the following week.

The Intermountain league could also be sorted out this weekend.  Pagosa Springs (4-1) is tied with Alamosa (3-1) for the league with Centauri (2-2) lurking in third.  Since Pagosa Springs plays both the Moose and Falcons this week, they can virtually lock up another crown with back-to-back wins.

Pagosa beat Alamosa 44-35 in the first meeting behind 17 points from Tyson Ross.  That’s three better than his season average (14.0).  As a team, the Pirates hit 24 of 32 free throws as they took advantage of numerous fouls from a very aggressive Alamosa defense.  The Moose have won three straight since that loss including a very impressive 65-46 decision over Centauri.  Stats for the Moose are not made available to MaxPreps.

Pagosa Springs has received a boost of late with the play of Kain Lucero.  Averaging over 11 points for the season, the point guard has upped that total to 14 over the last four and has added 21 assists and 11 steals in that stretch.  The Pirates are also getting solid play from Zach Griego (6.6) and Daniel Puskas (5.8) as they’ve won their last five games.

Against Centauri, Pagosa looks to avenge a disappointing 52-50 loss.  It was the second straight year the Pirates have lost in La Jara and the Falcons are the only conference team to beat Pagosa over the past three years. Chris Jarvies leads the Falcons with nearly 15 points a night.  They’re coming off a damaging loss to Bayfield which cost them a share of the conference lead.

Another first place battle takes place in the Frontier as league leading Clear Creek (6-0) is challenged by second place Sheridan (5-1).  Those two teams sit above five teams that currently share third place each with two conference losses.

Winners of six straight, Clear Creek hasn’t lost since falling to Valley (70-49) in mid-January.  Since they’ve already beaten three of the five teams in third (Denver Science, Lake County, and Bruce Randolph) so they’re in good shape for a conference crown if they get by Sheridan.  Another big game is set for next Tuesday against Pinnacle so it’s important stretch for the Golddiggers.

The brother tandem of Tevin (13.6) and Justin (12.6) Lucas lead Clear Creek offensively.  Tevin is a sophomore guard that directs the attack who had reached double figures in five straight before being held to eight points against Arrupe Jesuit.  He chips in two assists and two steals a game.  Justin, a 6-7 junior forward, is the inside force with nine rebounds a game.  He’s been in double figures in all but three games including a season high 26 against Platte Canyon.  He was held to just five in the loss to Valley as he struggled against the Vikings lineup that features two starters at 6-7.

Two other players have turned into consistent scorers for Clear Creek.  Xander Andrade and Kellen Cosby each score right at nine points a game and combine for nearly ten rebounds.  Cosby is a 6-6 junior center that’s a nice compliment to Justin Lucas in the paint.

Sheridan is guard oriented and may struggle against the big Clear Creek front line.  Justin Miller (20.3), Leon Ramirez (11.5) and Daren Gentry (10.1) lead the Rams up-tempo offense and that trio will look to get easy points on the fast break before Clear Creek can get aligned defensively.

The Rams are the defending champs and even though they were surprised by Denver Science (98-71) in conference play, a win over Clear Creek puts them in first place.  They also own a key victory over Pinnacle (65-63) so they’ll be in great shape to defend their crown by downing the Golddiggers.

Pinnacle, with five straight wins, has bounced back from two opening conference losses to be part of the five way tie for third place.  The Timberwolves meet two of the teams they’re tied with this week battling Bruce Randolph and Lake County before challenging Clear Creek next Tuesday.  Denver Science and Lake County also square off Tuesday.  Middle Park is the opponent for Clear Creek (Tuesday) before they can focus on their battle with Sheridan.

Out west, Aspen (8-0) has a two game edge on second place Roaring Fork (6-3) and a three game advantage on Grand Valley, Olathe and Hotchkiss who are all 5-3 and tied for third.  Of those five teams, Hotchkiss may have the most important weekend.  They host Roaring Fork on Friday and then also entertain Grand Valley on Saturday.  Wins in both give the Bulldogs a great chance to finish second and if that happens, then Aspen can clinch a tie for the championship by scoring wins in their next two games.  The Skiers face Olathe on Friday and then battle Roaring Fork a week later.

Roaring Fork has won four straight since a 10 point loss to Coal Ridge.  They scored a big win over Grand Valley (40-27) which allowed them to take over sole possession of second place.  The Rams must win out and have some other league team upset Aspen for their game with the Skiers in the regular season finale mean something in the title chase.  As mentioned, Roaring Fork faces Hotchkiss this Friday in a game that will help determine the league pecking order.

Looking at the schedule and the games remaining, Valley appears to be in great shape inside the Patriot.  The 2^nd ranked Vikings (6-0) lead Eaton by one game and Platte Valley, University and Weld Central by two.  The Vikings have already beaten three of those teams so they own tiebreakers on all challengers except Weld Central.  The Vikings finish with the Rebels in the final game of the regular season on February 14^th.

Currently in second place, Eaton (7-1) has won seven of eight but still has games remaining against all three third place teams so the Reds have plenty of work remaining in the conference chase.  That run begins at home Tuesday night against Weld Central.  The Rebels also tangle with Platte Valley on Friday so it’s an important week for Weld Central.

January was much kinder to the Rebels than December.  Weld Central went into the Christmas break at 0-7 but has won four of six games in league play.  Junior Cody Bowen is about the only holdover from last year’s team that reached the regional finals.  The third year starter is averaging 12.5 points for the season but is scoring 17 points in league play including 21 against Estes Park.  Bowen has 13 three-pointers in the last five games and 18 of 22 from the free throw line in the same stretch.  Platte Valley opened with league losses to University and Valley but has responded with four straight.

For some reason, we omitted the Metro conference from our preview this week so we’re adding some quick info after the fact. Manual’s Tuesday night win over Faith Christian created a four way tie for the league lead between those two teams, Holy Family and Peak to Peak.  All four squads have just one league loss.  Machebeuf (2-2) and Lutheran (3-2) sit tied for fifth and both teams have a chance to create more of a mess atop the standings.  That’s because Machebeuf plays both Peak to Peak (Wed) and Holy Family (Fri) this week.  The Buffs, who have been very inconsistent throughout the season, could actually knock both the Pumas and Tigers out of first place or the Buffs could drop three games out of first.  Faith Christian meantime, must quickly recover from the Manual loss as they host Lutheran on Friday.

One note on Faith Christian as they played the Manual game with point guard Nathan Rindels.  Averaging nearly 22 points a game, Rindels injured an ankle against Englewood and did not suit up against the Thunderbolts.  His status for the rest of the week and on down the road will likely be determined on a day-to-day basis but if the Eagles want to push for a fifth consecutive state championship, they will need a healthy Rindels.

The entire 3A schedule for each day and each team can be found on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Final scores will also be posted there throughout the rest of the regular season.  Results can be reported to Colorado Preps by text to 970.380.7737, by toll free phone at 866.534.6257 or by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com.

8^th ranked Coronado has the most difficult week as they meet both co-leaders over a three day span; facing top ranked Sierra on Thursday before meeting 5^th ranked Lewis Palmer on Saturday.  The challenge is a big one but the reward could be tremendous because if the Cougars grab wins in both, they’ll not only control the league championship race but will be considered for a top four seed in the 4A state tournament bracket.

Lewis Palmer is only ranked fifth in our latest Colorado Preps poll but ever since an opening loss to Broomfield, the Rangers have made a case to be the number one team.  They’ve reeled off 16 straights and have simply dominated opponents outscoring them by 564 points which represents an average margin of victory of 31 points.  Plus they could feature the best player in the state in six-ten center Josh Scott.  Already committed to the University of Colorado, Scott has had one of the best overall seasons in recent memory.  The senior is averaging nearly 31 points and ten rebounds a game and has scored at least 30 points in ten of 17 games this year.  In nine league wins, Scott has actually bumped up those numbers scoring 34 points with 13 rebounds a game including a season best 44 against a very good Sand Creek club.

If Scott is the best player in the state, then Sierra’s Wesley Gordon is in the running for the second spot.  Gordon, Scott and Sterling standout Xavier Talton are all headed to Boulder next Fall giving C-U a very talented in-state recruiting class.  Scott is averaging 21 points a game and has helped the top ranked Stallions to an unbeaten season with a winning margin of 23 points per game.  Gordon scored a state best 49 points against Sand Creek and added another 38 in a critical conference win over Wasson.  Sierra has also received a recent boost with the addition of Jalen Little.  He’s played in just four games but has scored at least 15 in three of them and has tossed in five three pointers during the stretch.

8^th ranked Coronado has matched the unbeaten league start of Lewis Palmer and Sierra but they’ve had a much more difficult time in getting there.  Five of their nine league wins are by single digit including a one point win over Sand Creek.  If the Cougars want to spring one or two upsets this week, they’ll need a stellar effort from leading scorer Eric Rayer and he’s done just that in the past two weeks.  Averaging 22 points for the season, Rayer has increased that number to 28 over his last three games while hitting 31 of 53 shots from the field.  Jamin Abeyta (15.1) has been a good second option but his scoring has dropped a bit as Rayer takes more control of the offense.  Scoring nearly 21 points a game in his first six league games, he has totaled only 25 points over his last three.

Despite the fine run by Coronado this year, they’ll still be considered underdogs in both games this week.  Should Sierra and Lewis Palmer both topple Coronado, then the Stallions and Rangers could start preparing for their much anticipated matchup a week from Friday (Feb. 10^th).

Another important clash this week can be found in the Tri Valley where 2^nd ranked Sterling heads to 7^th ranked Windsor on Tuesday night.  It’s another rematch of the state championship game from last March.  Sterling won that contest and also beat the Wizards easily in their first meeting of this season.  The Tigers moved past the Wizards 64-45 in a game that really wasn’t that close as Sterling led by 27 points after three quarters (58-31).

We’ve already mentioned Sterling senior Xavier Talton.  After leading the Tigers to the state championship, he’s taken on more of a scoring role this season as the Tigers graduated three key starters from last year.  On the season, Talton is scoring 19 points a game and has been extremely consistent totaling at least 12 points in every game but one.  He led the way in the first win over Windsor with a game high 20 points.  Bryant Klein added 18 in the win.

Klein is only the third leading scorer on the team but his development since the start of the season gives the Tigers a chance at defending their championship.  With the many losses to graduation, Coach Mike Holloway needed a consistent third scorer to step up this year and Klein has filled that role averaging nine points a game.  Senior Derek Karg, a second returning starter from the championship team, is second on the team with 14 points and scored a season best 22 in the opening win over Pueblo Central.  He’s been in double figures in every game but two including just six in the first game with Windsor.

The Wizards did not place a player in double figures in the first loss to Windsor.  Alex Baldwin, Drew Martin and Dylan Ochsner all had eight points but as mentioned, the team had trouble scoring points until the fourth quarter.  They’ve won six in a row since the Sterling loss and if they upset the Tigers on Tuesday, they’ll have a share of the Tri Valley lead.

On the season, Aaron Schmidt (16.4) is the team’s leading scorer and he gets help from different players each night as the Wizards have six other players averaging at least six points a game.  They shoot it well from the outside with 74 three-pointers on the season led by Martin with 22.  Schmidt has added 17.

Behind Sterling and Windsor is a good race for third and fourth in the league between Frederick (5-3), Skyline (4-4) and Fort Morgan (4-4). Third place of course is the most coveted as the team that gets there likely gets a nod into the state tournament.  Frederick and Fort Morgan meet up on Tuesday with the Mustangs hoping to repeat their 73-63 win from the first meeting.  At 4-4 in league play, the Mustangs have already surpassed their conference win total of last season (1) by three.  They also face Northridge this week who they also beat in the first half of the league slate.

Elsewhere in the division, we may have to wait until next week or even two weeks down the road before determining league championships.  In the Jeffco, Valor Christian (8-0) and D’Evelyn (7-0) don’t face off until next week and since they lead every other league opponent by at least two games, that contest will decide first and second.  Valor Christian is expected to roll past Conifer on Friday before meeting Pueblo South in non-league play on Saturday.  D’Evelyn heads to Alameda on Wednesday before facing arch-rival Golden at the Colorado School of the Mines on Friday.  Golden could use a win in that game since they’re battling Evergreen for third place.

Broomfield (Northern) and Pueblo Central (South Central) each have a two game advantage in their respective conference.  The Eagles (8-0) lead Greeley Central and Longmont (both 6-2) and won’t face either challenger this week.  They face Longmont a week from Tuesday and then must wait until the regular season finale on February 17^th to face Greeley Central.  If Broomfield wins every game to that point, then that game is meaningless to the championship race.  February 10^th is the date for the Central-Longmont rematch.  Central, which won the first meeting, first has to focus on a meeting with Silver Creek this Tuesday as they beat the Raptors by just four in the first meeting.

Pueblo Central (7-0) leads Pueblo Central (4-2) in the South Central chase with Pueblo West and Pueblo South (4-3) in a tight battle for third.  Since Central faces both the Cyclones and Colts this week, they’ll factor into the third place battle and if West and South both spring the upsets and avenge earlier season losses to the league leaders, we’ll suddenly have a tight race on our hands.

Results from the weekend created a crowded three team race for the Western Slope crown.  Eagle Valley was involved in the two most important games.  They fell two games behind league leading Palisade on Friday night with a loss to Delta but stayed in the race by upsetting the first place Bulldogs 24 hours later.  Those results leave Palisade at 6-1 with Delta and Eagle Valley tied for second at 6-2.

Palisade’s loss ended their 14-game winning streak suddenly  making Delta, with their six game winning streak, the hottest team in the conference.  Since they meet Palisade again in the regular season finale, they still have a chance to catch the Bulldogs even if both teams win their remaining games.  Eagle Valley has won six of seven, but since they don’t have any games remaining with either Palisade or Delta, they’ll need some help to get back into first place.  The Devils meet Moffat County and Steamboat Springs this weekend.  Delta has a meeting with Glenwood Springs for their only contest of the week while Palisade suits up against both the Demons and Sailors Friday and Saturday.  They also collected a nice non-league win over 3A Aspen last Tuesday to snap the Skiers nine game winning streak.

The daily schedule and results for Class 4A can be seen on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com and we’ll recap the week of action during the Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show which airs each Friday night from 9-11pm on the Colorado Preps Network.  Final scores can be reported by email to kevin@coloradopreps.com, by text to 970.380.7737 or by toll free phone call at 866.534.6257.

CLASS 5A

#3 Denver East at Lincoln (Mon)

#2 Chaparral vs Mountain Vista (Tues)

#6 Fairview vs #8 Fossil Ridge (Tues)

#2 Chaparral vs #7 ThunderRidge (Fri)

#10 Fruita Monument vs Grand Junction (Fri)

#1 Highlands Ranch at #5 Regis (Sat)

NOTES:  It’s a big week for the big school ranks as the highly ranked teams start to go head to head.  Denver East and Lincoln are both unbeaten in the City league so the winner takes control of the race.  East remains the favorite as the Lancers are just 8-7 on the season.  Chaparral has a big week.  They open play tied with Highlands Rand and Regis atop the Continental but they have two difficult games ahead.  If they win both, the Wolverines will stay tied for first with the Saturday winner of Highlands Ranch and Regis.  Mountain Vista, which lost twice last week, needs to upset Chaparral on Tuesday to have any chance at a top two finish and improve their post-season seed.  ThunderRidge also has a conference loss (Regis) so they too are facing the Wolverines while trying to keep their league championship hopes alive.  Fairview and Fossil Ridge both have commanding leads in their respective division of the Front Range conference so the winner gets the “overall” conference lead.  They’ve won a combined 31 straight games including a combined 12 over the past two weeks.  Fruita Monument topped Montrose last Tuesday to gain sole possession of the SWL lead.  Grand Junction is two games back and in need of an upset to stay in the title discussion.

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CLASS 4A

#2 Sterling at #7 Windsor (Tues)

#1 Sierra vs #8 Coronado (Thurs)

#6 D’Evelyn vs Golden (Fri)

Kennedy at Lincoln (Fri)

#5 Lewis Palmer at #8 Coronado (Sat)

#1 Sierra at Cheyenne Mountain (Sat)

NOTES:  No team in any class has a more difficult schedule this week than Coronado but the 8^th ranked Cougars also have a chance to make the most noise as well.  They begin the week tied with #1 Sierra and #5 Lewis Palmer atop the very rugged Colorado Springs Metro and since they face both teams over a three day period, the Cougars have a great opportunity to grab the conference reins and make a statement statewide.  It will be difficult to get one win let alone two as Sierra is unbeaten on the season and Lewis Palmer may be the best team in the division right now.  They’ve won every league game by at least 20 points thus far.  Sierra also has a tough road trip to Cheyenne Mountain on Saturday.  The Indians have dropped two league games already but since they haven’t played any of the big three yet, they have a chance to get back into the race.  Their chance is over the next two weeks because after Sierra, they tangle with both Coronado and Lewis Palmer next week.    Sterling beat Windsor 64-46 in the first meeting at the home and the rematch is this Tuesday in Windsor.  The Tigers basically secure the title with a second win over the Wizards.  D’Evelyn must avoid looking past Golden ahead of next week’s first place battle with Valor Christian.  Since the Demons are two games back of the two co-leaders, the game doesn’t have much of an impact on the championship chase but since it’s a great rivalry, we mention it as a top game.  Kennedy knocked off Thomas Jefferson last week but also fell to Denver East but a win over Lincoln gives them a great chance to end up second in the City league.

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CLASS 3A

#1 Faith Christian vs #5 Manual (Tues)

#3 Colorado Springs Christian vs Manitou Springs (Tues)

#8 Peak to Peak vs Machebeuf (Wed)

#6 Holy Family at Machebeuf (Fri)

#9 Clear Creek at Sheridan (Fri)

#10 Pagosa Springs at Alamosa (Fri)

Platte Valley at Weld Central (Fri)

Roaring Fork at Hotchkiss (Fri)

#10 Pagosa Springs vs Centauri (Sat)

NOTES:  It’s difficult to imagine that Colorado Springs Christian and Manitou Springs can match their double overtime affair from earlier this month but they’ll try in the rematch on Tuesday.  The Lions didn’t take their first lead in the first game until the second overtime but managed a seven point win to take the lead in the Tri Peaks West.  Now they can basically clinch the division crown with another win over the Mustangs who look to earn a share of the lead by beating the Lions on their home court.  In the Metro, Faith Christian leads three teams by one game and one of those three is Manual so their date with the Thunderbolts on Tuesday will affect the top four spots in the conference.  Machebeuf (9-5) is likely the best seventh place team in any conference and they try to begin their climb back up the Metro standings by beating both Peak to Peak and Holy Family.  Wins in both could actually put the Buffs back into second place and if Manual beats Faith Christian, then the Buffs would be only one game out of first.  Peak to Peak and Holy Family (both 3-1) are tied with Manual in second.  Pagosa Springs and Alamosa are tied for the Intermountain lead.  The Pirates won the first contest and a second win puts them in great shape for a third straight title then they would focus on avenging a league loss to Centauri the next night.  Clear Creek (6-0) and Sheridan (5-1) are one-two in the Frontier so the winner will be in first heading into the final two weeks of the conference season.  Platte Valley (4-2) and Weld Central (4-2) are battling for a top four finish in the Patriot.  They’re tied with University in third.  Roaring Fork took over second place in the Western Slope by beating Grand Valley last week.  This week the Rams face Hotchkiss.  The Bulldogs are one of three teams trailing the Rams by just one game in the league standings.

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CLASS 2A

Vail Christian at Hayden (Tues)

Lutheran at #1 Faith Christian (3A) (Fri)

Plateau Valley at Hayden (Fri)

#3 Peyton at Evangelical Christian (Fri)

#1 Denver Christian vs Evangelical Christian (Sat)

#2 Limon vs Calhan (Sat)

#7 Meeker at Plateau Valley (Sat)

#9 Akron at Yuma (Sat)

NOTES:  Calhan scored a huge district win over Evangelical Christian over the weekend snapping the Eagles nine game winning streak.  Now the Bulldogs hope to fly past another district rival when they visit 2^nd ranked Limon on Saturday.  That begins a rugged three week stretch to close the season for the unbeaten Badgers.  Evangelical Christian has little time to think about the Calhan loss as they suit up against both Denver Christian and Peyton this week.  Those two are ranked in the top three so the Eagles will get a first-hand look at how they compare with two of the state’s best teams.  Lutheran continues their rugged slate in the 3A Metro as they challenge Faith Christian in a battle of defending state champions.  Faith has won the last four 3A crowns with the Lions grabbing the 2A title last year.  Plateau Valley is a 1A program but they’ll provide good league competition for both Hayden and 7^th ranked Meeker.  Meeker has quietly won eight in a row and the Cowboys are unbeaten against in-state opponents this year.  Hayden has won five in a row.  The Tigers also battle a very good Vail Christian team coming off a 15 point win over Plateau Valley.  Akron beat Yuma 65-55 in their first meeting and the two highway 34 rivals square off again on Saturday.  The Indians must shake off a difficult loss at Caliche last Friday where they let go of a 14 point fourth quarter lead in a nine point loss to the three-time defending 1A state champions.

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CLASS 1A

#4 Springfield vs Stanton County KS (Tues)

#4 Springfield at #6 Sierra Grande (Fri)

#8 Cheyenne Wells vs McClave (Fri)

#3 Walsh at McClave (Sat)

#6 Sierra Grande at Del Norte (Sat)

#8 Cheyenne Wells vs Stratton (Sat)

NOTES:  Many basketball fans feel we have Sierra Grande ranked too high despite their unbeaten mark but the Panthers get two chances this week to prove they belong among the state’s highest ranked teams.  Last week they scheduled an additional game with 4^th ranked Springfield and that contest is set for this Friday so the Panthers face off with the defending state runners-up.  Then on Saturday, Sierra Grande steps up to the 2A ranks to face a very good Del Norte squad that’s won nine of 13 games overall.  Ahead of the trip to Sierra Grande, Springfield also faces Stanton County.  The Kansas team handed Walsh their only loss of the season earlier this month and we can use the Trojans as a good barometer to preview the Walsh-Springfield clash next week.  McClave also has a difficult week in-store.  The Cardinals could return to the top ten if they beat both Cheyenne Wells and Walsh on successive nights but that’s a very tall order.  Their game with Walsh is a rematch of the last two Lamar tournament championship games.  McClave won last season with Walsh taking the crown this year.  Cheyenne Wells could also get challenged by Stratton on Saturday.  The Eagles are only 7-6 but they’ve played almost every opponent close and a few of their players have competed in the last two state tournaments.  Vail Christian and Plateau Valley are not mentioned on this list but we preview their games against bigger schools in the 2A update.  Both teams are looking to gain some momentum entering the final few weeks of the regular season.

We’ll start with Simla as the Cubs are challenged by 2^nd ranked Limon (2A) on Thursday and then face a rematch of their consolation champion win over Shining Mountain when they meet the 5^th ranked Lions on Saturday.  Since losing to highly ranked Peyton in the season opener, the Cubs have rolled to ten straight wins including tight victories over Cheyenne Wells (55-51) and Elbert (55-54)

Limon represents a strong challenge with four players averaging double figures headed up by Jason Brown’s 15 points and nearly ten rebounds a game.  Three other starters, Cameron Dohe, Gavin Liggett and Tyler Koehn all provide 11 points in the balanced attack.  Simla counters with Dustin Jenkins who leads the team in scoring (15.6), steals (3.1) and assists (3.6).  He dropped in a season high 23 points in the aforementioned one point win over Elbert.

Simla’s second leading scorer, Eric Fullmer, hasn’t played since the Elbert game.  He chips in 11 points and three steals a game and his status for the weekend is unknown at this time. If he can’t go, the Cubs may ask a bit more of talented freshman Cody Norris who has been remarkably consistent for such a young player.  Norris has scored between 10 and 12 points in all but two games this year and is averaging ten points for the season.

The rematch with Shining Mountain on Saturday could be a good one.  The Cubs are missing leading scorer Chance Mitchell from that game but most of the top players for both teams will be back on the court this year.  Simla downed the Lions 46-30 to take home the consolation crown last March.

Shining Mountain in fact has four returning starters from that game but not all of them are playing major roles this season as the Lions feature even more depth.  Ray Fiegal and Billy Hussey both were in the starting lineup last March but this year are averaging a combined six points.  The remaining two starters, Andrew Bremmer and Jason Ellinwood, are contributing however combining for 25 points a game.

The Lions seem to be in late season form already as they blasted Gilpin County 91-23 on Tuesday.  Coach Enoch Miller’s team led 37-0 after the first quarter and 63-5 at halftime.  Rory Siy topped the stat sheet with 20 points, Bremmer had 18, Alex Beal 15, and both Colin Cantwell and Garrett Johnson 11.   Three of those five were reserves a year ago and Johnston is just a freshman.

The Shining Mountain schedule though has been light with Alexander Dawson likely marked as the best win.  They downed the 2A opponent 59-46 but there’s not much else on their regular season resume.  The schedule though is virtually the same as a year ago when they raced to the sixth place finish.

Cotopaxi plays three games in three days with difficult games against Custer County (Thursday) and 7^th ranked Sierra Grande (Saturday) sandwiched around an expected Friday night win over Creede.  The Pirates schedule includes two forfeit wins over Aguilar and a couple of victories against JV programs from larger schools.  Their only loss came against South Park in game one of the season.

Cotopaxi will need to slow the pace against Sierra Grande.  The Panthers are averaging over 74 points a game and the Pirates prefer not to get into a running game with them.  Sierra Grande is coming off a 100 point effort in a blowout of Primero and has scored at least 85 in three other games.  Their top three scorers are underclassmen with juniors Tomas Vigil (15.1) and Ricardo Howard (14.7) joining sophomore Adam Gomez (10.9) in double figures.

Cotopaxi’s top player is senior Mitch Gerk who’s averaging 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and nearly three steals.  Classmate Dalton Aumon is a second double figure scorer (10.0) and leads the team in rebounding with eight.  Denver Acres (9.4), Stewart Leatherbery (8.0) and Doug Troutman (7.9) provide depth offensively.

Before Cotopaxi can focus on Sierra Grande, they must deal with Custer County (2A) on Thursday.  The Bobcats (7-4) has played a much more difficult schedule pushing 3A Florence to within six points and Sanford (#4 in 2A) to a nine point game.  They also have wins over Elbert (44-43) and 2A Del Norte (54-49).  Custer County also moved past South Park (64-49) and the Burros again are the only team to defeat Cotopaxi.

Holly came up short in their upset bid of 3^rd ranked Walsh last week but the Wildcats can’t spend much time thinking about that loss as they have dates with 9^th ranked Cheyenne Wells on Thursday and a rematch with 4^th ranked Springfield on Friday.  Even though the Wildcats lost 74-69 in overtime, their first game with Springfield is among the best in the division this year.  It came in the third place game of the Lamar Holiday Tournament.

The game was extremely even except for one phase; the free throw line.  Springfield connected on 20 of 33 from the line while Holly attempted only three for the entire night.  The Wildcats hit six of 19 from beyond the arc compared to six of 20 for the Longhorns.  Holly won the rebound battle by just one (44-43).

Holly senior Shannon Rushton drained a three pointer to send the first game into overtime and he finished with 15 points.  Jace Massar and Drew Thompson led the team with 16 with Tylor Swopes adding ten.  With five three pointers on the night, Saul Baker led Springfield with a game high 23 points.  Michael Crane (15) and Todd Hutches (12) also reached double digits.

Baker dropped in another three treys in Springfield’s easy 67-24 win over Boise City Oklahoma on Tuesday night.  Many other players also got involved as Crane and Hutches each scored 11 and Brady Humphrey added ten including two three-pointers.  Hutches also contributed seven rebounds and six steals while Colin Loflin (7) and Michael Sanchez (8) combined for 15 boards.

Holly’s late season success may depend on the play of Jace Massar.  After missing all of the action since Christmas, the center returned to the lineup last week and chipped in seven points in the loss to Walsh.  He’s totaled 14 points in the three game since his return but was averaging 10.2 before the break.

Cheyenne Wells featured a great inside game a year ago but is more guard oriented this year with junior Trey Brown (15.5) and sophomore Matthew Sanders (14.3) pacing the offense.  Both have connected on 28 three-pointers for the season.  Springfield is very similar to Holly as they’ve played several highly ranked teams but very close but have yet to post a victory.  Recent losses have come against Springfield and Simla by four points apiece and early in the season, they were taken out by Walsh and Deer Trail.

Top ranked Caliche continues to roll through the schedule collecting easier than expected wins over Fleming (77-48) and Peetz (70-51) in the past week.  Senior Joel Edler continues his hot scoring pace with 22 against Fleming and then topping that with a 30 point night versus Peetz.  Freshman Austin Yahn chipped in 13 and senior Andrew Roche returned from injury with 10 points in the Fleming win while Mitch Davison knocked in ten against Peetz.

Up this week are two good tests against 2A opponents Yuma and Holyoke.  We recapped their seasons in-depth in the 2A update and both are playing very good basketball right now.  Win or lose, the Buffs as always will benefit from the step up in classification during their post-season run.

2^nd ranked Pawnee looks to lock up the Northern Conference title by beating Fleming for a second time.  Those two meet at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling this Friday.  Pawnee earned a 69-53 win in round one behind 24 points from Brye Brunelle and 16 from Kevin Shoemaker.  Brunelle was three of five from beyond the arc while Shoemaker missed only two of nine attempts on the inside.  Fleming had just one player in double figures that night with Tyler Vandenbark scoring 20.  The Wildcats though shot just 19 of 65 from the field in the loss including four of 17 from beyond the arc.

Fleming is 8-3 on the season with two losses to Caliche and the previous matchup to Pawnee so all three setbacks are against unbeaten opponents who are ranked in the top two.  They did score a good win over Prairie (51-43) in the follow-up game to Caliche.

Vail Christian and Plateau Valley are two teams looking to break into the rankings and both have quality opponents on the weekend.  The two square off on Saturday both play 2A West Grand (8-2) as well.  The Saints face the Mustangs Thursday with the Cowboys meeting them the next night.

The Saint whipped West Grand 72-49 in the season opener so they need to avoid looking past a West Grand club vastly improved from that night.  Vail Christian outscored the Mustangs by seven points in each of the first three quarters as they slowly built a commanding lead.

At 6-4, Vail Christian’s record is misleading and they could be a force in the post-season.  They’re unbeaten against 1A opponents with every loss coming against either a 2A or 4A program including two losses to 7^th ranked Meeker (2A).  They’re coming off an easy 67-37 win over in-city rival Vail Mountain on Tuesday and are led in scoring by Fernando Hernandez (15.0) and Robby Bowles (12.1).

Plateau Valley has won three in a row since a 17 point setback to Meeker.  Teddy Grundy (24.7) scores about four of every ten points for the team despite being the focus of every opponent’s defense.  The senior tallied 29 points against Soroco and 25 against Ridgway last week so he enters a key stretch for the Cowboys with a hot hand.  Kyler Smith (14.3) has reached double figures in each of the past five games.

Almost lost in the shuffle of a great lineup of games are the matchups between 8^th ranked Hi Plains and Bethune in the YWKC and Haxtun against Wiggins in the Lower Platte.  Hi Plains topped Bethune 63-51 in a non-conference test before Christmas but the outcome of their Thursday meeting could determine the league championship and number one district seed.  Complete stats are not available for either team but through six games, the Patriots were led by 6-3 sophomore Avery Marzloff with 15 points a game.  The Patriots have won seven straight since a surprising two point loss to Kit Carson.  Bethune’s only in-state loss is against Hi Plains and they’ll have a five game winning streak at tip-off.

Haxtun and Wiggins are both striving for consistency.  The Bulldogs (6-5) have not won more than two straight all season but they’ve haven’t lost two in a row either.  Wiggins looked like a potential state championship contender in a big win at Akron but has since lost two straight at home including a 53-41 decision to Yuma on Tuesday.  Haxtun dropped a 43-39 contest to Chase County Nebraska the same night.

Peyton sits at 8-2 on the season and winners of five straight since a loss to highly ranked Manitou Springs (3A).  They’ve beaten four district opponents thus far but only the win over Calhan last Saturday counts toward the district seeding.  Coach Brian Green’s club will face Colorado Springs, Fountain Valley and Kiowa again in February and those games will represent the district matchups.

Byers is not in the Black Forest conference so they play district opponents only once during the regular season and each outcome will determine the Bulldogs post-season positioning.  With wins over Evangelical Christian, Vanguard, Calhan and Colorado Springs, Coach Jeremy Kerns’ club is already 4-0 and virtually a shoo-in to be playing at home in the district quarterfinals.  That right is reserved for the top four seeds.

Peyton is outscoring the Bulldogs by about 11 points a game so they’ll push the tempo a bit more.  Ethan Abello dropped in 31 points in the win over Calhan and he reached that total on just 16 shots because he was 11 of 12 from the foul line.  It was his third game over 30 points this year and the junior leads the team in scoring (25.0).  Second leading scorer Jared Watkins (11.2) did not play against Calhan but Chris Epps (17) and Kyle Gowen (14) easily picked up the slack.  Watkins’s status for this weekend is unknown.

Byers carries a ten game winning streak to the weekend and recently they’ve been boosted by the return of junior wingman Ryan Imber.  Playing in his last five games, his outside shooting ability has freed up even more space for the inside power of Jake Eikleberry and Jared Martin.  Imber fired in three three-pointers and totaled 15 points in the Bulldogs last win over Colorado Springs.  That pushed his season average to over six points a game.

Eikleberry and Martin though remain options one and two.  Eikleberry leads the team in scoring (18.7) and rebounding (9.7) and has scored between 14 and 17 points in each of the last four games.  He was held to just nine points in limited minutes during a blowout of Woodlin but that’s the only game this year he’s failed to score at least 14.  Martin was in serious foul trouble in the game we watched against Calhan and didn’t see much court time but he’s averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds and totaled 24 points in last week’s wins over Flagler and Colorado Springs.

Evangelical Christian and Calhan hook up in another important District Eight game Saturday afternoon.  As mentioned, the Eagles (9-2) already have a district loss to Byers so if they wish to earn the top overall seed, winning out is probably a must.  Calhan is in more dire straits.  The Bulldogs are 3-3 against district opponents but only the three losses have counted toward the district seeding.  They’ve beaten Vanguard, Colorado Springs and Fountain Valley but play the Coursers, Kodiaks and Danes again with those results impacting the district standings.

As in the past, ECA will push tempo especially this game against a Calhan team with more size.  Cam Dillavou (13), Caleb Dillavou (10) and Vincent Bracket (10) are all double figure scores and many times they get easy looks from forced turnovers against the Eagles press.  Calhan snapped a three game skid by beating Fountain Valley 62-50 on Tuesday.

2^nd ranked Limon is another contender for the top seed in District Eight.  The Badgers (12-0) take a break from both the district and Union Pacific races by heading to Simla on Thursday.  The Cubs are ranked sixth in Class 1A and the game will mark a much needed test for both clubs.  Limon beat Deer Trail and Colorado Springs by ten points apiece but every other wins has been by at least 15 points. Simla represents the first ranked opponent the Badgers will face and for Simla, the Cubs haven’t played a top ten team since losing to Peyton in the season opener.

The Badgers top player is Jason Brown with 15 points and nearly ten rebounds a game.  He leads an offense averaging over 72 points a game but he gets plenty of help from teammates Cameron Dohe, Gavin Liggett, and Tyler Koehn who are all averaging 11 points a game.  That balance makes it difficult for defenses to concentrate on just one player.

Denver Christian (#1) and Resurrection Christian (#6) played the most important game of last week with the Crusaders cruising to an easy 65-46 road victory.  The win solidified the Crusaders’ hold on the number one ranking but the Cougars fell three spots to sixth this week.  Both were on the court Tuesday in their first action since the head-to-head matchup and both posted impressive wins.  Denver Christian rolled 3A Kent Denver 73-56 while Resurrection Christian moved past Heritage Christian 65-52.  The Cougars had beaten Heritage by just three points early in the season so the win marked a ten point improvement.  Denver Christian jumped on Kent 23-11 in the first quarter and then outscored the Sun Devils by five points over the final three quarters.  Austin Lefebre went for 24 points and Alex Terpstra 19.  Terpstra had two treys in the win but Connor Kroshus hit four from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points.  Wyatt Simon had a big day for Resurrection.  The junior poured in a season best 21 points including all three of the team’s three-pointers for the day.

Denver Christian heads to Middle Park on Saturday and then hosts Alexander Dawson next Tuesday.  Resurrection Christian visits Longmont Christian Friday evening and will be favored in each remaining game until a rematch with Denver Christian to close the season on February 17^th.

Sanford is a third top ten team that was on the court Tuesday night.  Stepping up a class to visit Pagosa Springs, the Indians ended a six game winning streak with a 60-52 loss.  They now sit at 10-2 with both losses to 3A opponents (Alamosa and Pagosa).  They return to action inside the district at home against Cripple Creek this Friday.

With eight wins in ten games, West Grand has been among the biggest surprises in the classification.  In fact, the Mustangs could lose seven of their final eight games and still finish better than the 8-8 mark they posted a year ago.  Even though they face a pair of 1A opponents this weekend, the Mustangs face their most difficult back-to-back games of the season when they host Vail Christian on Thursday before visiting Plateau Valley in Colbrann on Friday.

One of the two losses by West Grand came at the hands of Vail Christian and the Saints won in impressive fashion (72-49).  Robby Bowles led four Saints in double figures as they posted the win.  West Grand picked up 24 points from Travis Gore and 14 from Casey Gore but the rest of the team managed only 11 points combined.  They’ll need better balance and more pressure defensively to offset the 24 point margin from game one.

Travis leads the Mustangs in scoring for the season (19.9) including a 31 point night in the quality win over Hayden.  He’s reached double figures in his last five games.  Casey is scoring eight points a game but has not reached double digits over the last five outings.

Plateau Valley has won three straight since a 17 point loss to Meeker.  The Cowboys are 7-2 and have a common opponent with West Grand in Soroco.  Plateau Valley beat the Rams by 19 compared to the one point victory posted by the Mustangs.

The West Grand defense must focus on Teddy Grundy who is scoring almost 42 percent of Plateau Valley’s points (24.7).  He’s scored at least 20 points in all but one game this year as he ended up with only 17 in the latest loss to Meeker.  The senior is coming off an explosive weekend where he combined for 54 points in wins over Soroco and Ridgway.

Two of the most prolific scorers in Class 2A face off Friday when 10^th ranked Akron entertains Holyoke.  Sophomore Brady Baer is averaging 28 points for the Rams with Senior Reid Baumgartner at nearly 22 for the Dragons.  Both have the ability to take over a game at any moment and each has the ability to string points together in bunches.

Recently, Baer has been more accurate from beyond the arc than inside hitting 19 of 39 three pointers in his last four games compared to 22 of 51 from inside.  The guard scored exactly 30 points in three straight games before “settling” for 25 in the win over Yuma.  Baumgartner pushed his average over 21 points with a solid week against quality opponents totaling 26 in a loss to Yuma and 30 in the road win at 9^th ranked Wiggins.

Both teams have also been up and down of late in a season filled with inconsistent results for the 2A teams in the Lower Platte.  Akron opened 6-0 but has split their last four.  They lost to Wiggins by 28 points and then lost the rematch to Haxtun (61-57) last Friday.  They had beaten the Bulldogs by three earlier in the season.  Akron responded by beating Yuma 65-55 the next night.

Holyoke meantime has lost twice to Yuma but split a pair of games with Wiggins.  On January 7^th, they lost at home to Wiggins by 18 points but then as mentioned rallied to beat them on the road 74-72.  Yuma and Wiggins have been equally inconsistent and if you throw in Burlington and an improving team in Wray, it should make for one crazy district tournament next month.

Speaking of the Indians and Tigers, they met in Wiggins Tuesday night with Yuma scoring a 53-41 decision.  The Tigers trailed 17-8 after the first quarter and never really recovered as only four players hit the scoring column.  Yuma improved to 9-4 overall with their fourth win in five games.  Stats for the Wiggins win have yet to be reported but Matt Bowland (12.5) tops the team in scoring for the season but guard Brody Bueltell runs the attack and is a close second with 11 points a night.  Sophomore Jaden Koenig continues to get more minutes each game and has raised his average to 8.6 points game.  Dalton McMurphy also chips in eight a night.

The win at Wiggins started off in a good way an important stretch for the Indians who challenge three-time defending 1A champion Caliche this Friday.  They also meet Hi Plains, Haxtun and Akron over the next two weeks and will use the hefty slate to prep for the post-season push.  Yuma finished third at state a year ago beating Ignacio on a last second shot in the third place contest.

Wiggins also has another tough date with Haxtun on Saturday.  Comparative scores go out the window in this one as well. Wiggins blasted Akron 90-62 with Haxtun splitting two tight games with the Rams.  The Tigers have dropped two straight at home since the impressive Akron win.  Haxtun (6-5) has not won more than two in a row or lost two straight all season.   They’re coming off a loss to Chase County Nebraska (43-39) on Tuesday.

PATRIOT

Valley’s 20 point win over University on Tuesday placed the Vikings alone in first place and with wins over both second place teams (University and Eaton); the Vikings are in good position to land the championship.  Joe Dellenbach fired in four three-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Vikings to their 13^th victory without a defeat.  Tanner Schmidt added 15 including eight in a very strong second quarter.  Now the Vikings get ready for a trip to Strasburg on Friday where they will begin the final month of the season and get ready for what they hope will be a third state tournament appearance in the past four years.  Right now, they’re one of the top candidates to challenge four-time defending state champion for this year’s crown.  In addition to the twin towers of Dellenbach (6-6) and Schmidt (6-7), the Vikings also feature a talented point guard in Drew Matsushima and forward Cedric Collinge who may be the best athlete in the conference and among the best in the entire classification.

Looking down the road, University and Eaton meet in Greeley on February 7^th but both teams have plenty of work remaining before leaving that game to decide second place.  The Bulldogs and Reds are being chased by four teams tied in fourth place with records of 3-2.  One of those teams is Weld Central and the Rebels are the next opponent for University.  Eaton meantime goes to Lyons this Friday before facing Weld Central next Tuesday.

At least one of the fourth place teams will fall off the pace on Friday when Berthoud goes to Platte Valley.  The Spartans downed Strasburg 63-48 on Tuesday to snap a two game side while Platte Valley handed Brush a second straight loss in a narrow 63-62 overtime win on Tuesday.  Berthoud picked up 25 points from Zach Ruebesam and 16 from Greg Hutchins.  Platte Valley surrendered a five point halftime lead but managed to rally in overtime to score the much needed road victory.  The Beetdiggers hope to rebound this Friday against Mead.

FRONTIER

Clear Creek and Sheridan both collected victories Tuesday to stay one-two in the standings but Pinnacle kept their slim championship hopes alive by downing Denver Science 73-56.  It moved the Timberwolves to 3-2 in the conference and one game back of second place Sheridan and two back of the first place Golddiggers.  Pinnacle has already lost to Sheridan but still have a date at Idaho Springs on February 7^th.  The loss dropped Denver Science to 3-2 but since they’ve already played all of the league leaders, they will need some help in moving back up the standings.  In last night’s win, Pinnacle led 52-45 after three quarters but pulled away with a 21-9 spurt in the final eight minutes.

Clear Creek doubled up Bennett 70-35 for their fifth straight win.  They jumped on the Tigers early with a 20-5 run in the first quarter and then nearly matched it with a 17-6 advantage in the third quarter.  The Golddiggers should get by Arrupe Jesuit and Middle Park in their next two outings and then face back-to-back games against pre-season conference favorites Sheridan and Pinnacle.

Sheridan, which was blasted by Denver Science (98-71) last week, put together a strong offensive effort in their 84-72 win over Jefferson.  It was the third time in six games the Rams scored at least 80 points.  Next up are road trips and expected wins at Platte Canyon and Arrupe Jesuit before hosting Clear Creek a week from Friday.  A win there could give them at least a share of the league title provided they win their remaining games.

MOUNTAIN

Right now it’s a three team race for the championship as Pagosa Springs (3-1), Centauri (2-1) and Alamosa (2-1) share the lead but since two of those teams collide on Friday, one will lose a share of the top spot.

The game of focus pits Centauri on the road to Alamosa and it’s the only league game of the week for each team.  The Falcons will be seeing their first court time since a surprising 61-57 loss at Bayfield while Alamosa is coming off a 20 point win over the same Wolverine squad.  Conversely, Centauri has a two point win over co-leader Pagosa Springs while the Moose lost to the Pirates by nine so comparative scores against common opponents in this league apparently don’t mean that much.

In their win over Bayfield, Alamosa picked up 19 points from Jigmei Dorgei who scored 11 of his points before half including three three-pointers.  Tyler Martinez added a dunk in the second half to show off his versatility and athletic ability.  Jacob Gibbs added 10 points.  The free throw line was also kind to the Moose as they converted 21 of 25 attempts in the win.

The night before, Centauri fell behind Bayfield 17-2 early and was down 22-9 after the first quarter but rallied to actually take a third quarter lead before coming up short at the end.  Derek HIllyer totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds while Cody Rose ended up with 16.  Chris Jarvies paced Centauri with 16 points and Russell Shawcroft scored 13.  For Shawcroft, the total was eight points above his average while Jarvies leads the team with nearly 15 points a game for the season.

Pagosa Springs of course will watch the outcome closely as they’ll be tied with the winner for first provided the Pirates pick up a win at Bayfield on Saturday.  The Pirates have won three straight including a 60-48 win over top five Sanford (2A) on Tuesday.  Coach Randy Sorensen’s club topped the Wolverines 60-50 earlier this month and a second win sets up a very important stretch as the Pirates face both Alamosa and Centauri next weekend.  Win on Saturday and sweep those two games next and the Pirates will be great shape to defend their conference championship.

WESTERN SLOPE

Aspen’s nine game winning streak came to a halt Tuesday night in a disappointing 54-27 loss to 4A Western Slope leader Palisade but of course the non-conference game had no bearing on the Skiers league standing so they’ll still carry a two game lead into weekend matchups with Gunnison and Hotchkiss at home.  The game with Hotchkiss carries the most weight as the Bulldogs sit tied with Grand Valley and Roaring Fork in second place.

The Skiers Tuesday loss was their first since the opening weekend when because of injuries, they were without a full roster in losses to Eagle Valley and Meeker.  The 27 points also marked by far their lowest offensive output of the season as they had scored at least 43 points in all previous 11 games.  Aspen attempted only 26 shots the entire night, missed on all seven three-point attempts and two players (Jake Nugent and Austin Roark) scored all but of the teams points.

Hotchkiss has scored five straight wins since back to back road losses to Grand Valley (65-51) and Rifle (46-44).  Defense carried them to a 52-33 win over Coal Ridge on Saturday as they limited to the Titans to just three treys on a whopping 30 attempts.  Offensive stats for the Bulldogs have not been provided to Maxpreps.

Another key game this week pits Roaring Fork on the road to Grand Valley.  As mentioned, both teams are tied with Hotchkiss in second place but all three squads are two games out of first place so the loser may have an insurmountable hill to climb back into contention.

Roaring Fork has won two straight and four of their last five to stay in the championship chase.  In their latest win, a 69-53 win over Cedaredge last Saturday, placed three players in double figures with Trae Moxley earning 25 points and Dakotah Grett 17.  Trent Reeds chipped in 14 points with seven rebounds while Clay Gross dished out 11 assists.  Moxley might have been even better the night before when he scored 27 points and nine rebounds helping Roaring Fork to a 56-43 over Rifle.

Grand Valley is coming off a costly 45-37 loss to Aspen that cost the Cardinals first place.  Instead they probably need to win out to even have a slim chance of earning a share of the title.  Even in that scenario, Aspen would need to lose three of their remaining contest for the Cardinals to move ahead.

The loss also ended the Cardinals four game winning streak. Grand Valley attempted only eight shots inside the arc (hitting three) but was a whopping nine of 26 from beyond the arc.  Jacob White was three of five from the outside and Trever Smith was three of 11 and both finished with 11 points.  Smith (18.2) leads the team in scoring for the season with Trent Reidle (13.8) next in line.  Reidle managed nine in the loss to Aspen.

METRO

Ten teams make up the conference and after an extremely wild first ten days of action, eight teams have one loss and are currently tied for second behind first place Faith Christian (2-0).  Only Colorado Academy (0-4) has yet to post a win.  With so many teams only one game out of the top spot, picking an important game for the week is almost impossible.

Faith Christian of course is the only team that controls their destiny since if they win their remaining contests, it doesn’t matter what the other teams do as the Eagles would claim another championship but since they have seven league games remaining, it’s much too early to hand the crown to the defending champs since especially since they edged Jefferson Academy by just two points last week.

Faith Christian is home to Machebeuf on Thursday and then travels to Englewood on Saturday.  With three losses in their last four games, Machebeuf is the most confusing team in the league.  After opening with a very impressive 57-52 win over a talented Manual squad, the Buffs were stunned by Englewood (57-53) two nights later.   The Pirates moves to 2-1 inside the league and are suddenly a league title contender.  They host Manual on Thursday before their big date with Faith Christian.  Should the Pirates spring upsets in both, they suddenly become a league contender and likely top ten member.

Holy Family, which split games with Peak to Peak and Manual last week, entertains Kent Denver on Thursday.  The Sun Devils have lost two in a row including a 17 point loss to Denver Christian last night and sit at 5-6 on the season but we still expect them to make a run for an upper division conference finish.  Peak to Peak should get by Colorado Academy on Thursday but then faces a road trip to a suddenly improved Jefferson Academy squad on Saturday.

TRI PEAKS WEST

Just five games into the league schedule; it’s a two team race between Colorado Springs Christian (5-0) and Manitou Springs (4-1).  Every other team has at least three losses leaving Classical Academy, Florence and Buena Vista (all 2-3) to battle it out for third.  The first place Lions have scored three league wins by an average of 26 points since the double overtime victory at Manitou.  The Mustangs have been equally impressive in the same span; picking up four wins by at least 13 points apiece.  The rematch is set for next Tuesday.

The chase for third will loosen a bit on Saturday when Buena Vista travels to Classical Academy.  Florence steps away from the league fray by visiting 2A Evangelical Christian.  The Eagles are 9-2 overall and have won seven in a row.  The Huskies are coming off back-to-back losses to Colorado Springs Christian (73-56) and Manitou Springs (60-44).

TRI PEAKS EAST

Three teams hit Friday tied for the conference lead but some loosening will occur as the leaders square off in two head-to-head battles.  Dolores Huerta Prep is involved in both of them as the Scorpions face both La Junta and St Mary’s on back-to-back nights.  All three teams are 5-1 but should Dolores Huerta sweep, then the Scorpions are in the conference driver’s seat.

The Scorpions especially need a win over St Mary’s since they lost to the Pirates (68-65) in their first meeting.  Since the loss however they’ve secured three consecutive wins.  In the first meeting, Ben Fetter led three Pirates in double figures with 22 points and he led the team to 27 fourth quarter points which turned out to be the difference in the game.  Daniel Padrnos added 17 and Jacob Raedel 14 for the winners.  Chris Sandoval netted a game 23 for the Scorpions with Diego Velverde (16) and Nate Esquibel (14) combined for another 30 points.

Against La Junta, the Scorpions will go for the season sweep as they toppled the Tigers 62-48 in mid-December.  Velverde led the way with 17 points, Nate Esquibel picked up 16, Chris Sandoval 12 and Anthony Guerrero 11 as the Scorpions again displayed great balance.

La Junta has won seven in a row since the first loss to Dolores Huerta Prep.  Brandon Martinez (13.8) is the leading scorer for the Tigers and even though he was limited to four points against Ellicott, has been on a scoring tear of late.  The senior had dropped in 32 against St Mary’s and 22 in the win over Trinidad in the two games preceding the Ellicott contest.  Zerek Jones (12.8) has been equally hot.  The Pagosa Springs transfer poured in a season high 23 against Trinidad and followed up with 19 against Ellicott.  He enters the matchup with Dolores Huerta Prep with five consecutive double figure games.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Tuesday night marks the end of the first half of the conference schedule and it ends in a big way as first place Broomfield heads to second place Greeley Central.  The two are separated by one game in the league standings so the outcome is important to both teams.  With a win, Broomfield earns a nice two game advantage heading into the final seven regular season games while Greeley Central forces a tie for the top spot if they continue their recent hot streak.

Central is 5-1 since Christmas with only a one point loss at Centaurus representing their only stumble.  Sheldon Darnell has led the second half surge.  After missing all but one game in December, the six-eight center has scored double figures in four of six league games and tossed in a season high 25 in the key win over Longmont last week.  Over his last four games, Darnell is averaging 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.  Zack Elrick has been equally strong scoring 15 points with four three pointers over his last three outings.  That’s six below his season average and almost matches his total of five treys on the season before the last three contests.

Broomfield has rolled through conference play winning six games by an average of 26 points and if you use Centaurus as the comparison; then the Eagles should pick up another easy win.  While Central lost at Centaurus by one point, Broomfield smoked the Warriors by 47 points just last Friday.  Five players reached double figures in the win led by the trio of Nick Ongarato, Dan Perse and Austin Wood who all finished with 14.  Spenser Reeb added a dozen and Brandon Little 10.  That balance has paced the Eagles to the fourth overall ranking in Class 4A and 13 wins in 14 tries.

Third place Longmont (4-2) deals with Silver Creek (Tuesday) and Centaurus (Friday) this week and both opponents trail the Trojans by one game in the standings.  The Trojans actually were tied with Broomfield for the league lead before a loss to the Eagles on January 13^th.  Four days later, they were surprised by Greeley Central (68-53) and are now playing catch-up to both teams.

SOUTH CENTRAL

With five straight wins to open league play, Pueblo Central has been a bit of a surprise thus far and they have a two game edge on second place Pueblo East, Pueblo West and Pueblo South.  Central gained the advantage thanks to an exciting 55-54 overtime win at home against East last Friday.  Kevin Trujillo continued his torrid scoring pace with 28 points including four three-pointers.  The senior guard is averaging 21.7 for the season and has totaled 59 points in his last two outings.

Expect Central to keep their lead this week as they face lower division opponents Pueblo Centennial and Pueblo County before facing Pueblo South and Pueblo West both on the road next week.

Two of the three second place teams square off Tuesday night when East heads to South.  The Eagles have been the hard luck team in conference play with two losses by a total of three points.  In addition to the one point loss to Central, they also fell at Canon City by two in their conference opener.  They’re still playing without 6-7 center Rudy Parks as the leading scorer has not played since December because of a back injury.  South has won two straight since back-to-back losses to Central and West.

TRI VALLEY

With the first half of the conference schedule wrapping up Tuesday night it appears the championship will be decided when Sterling goes to Windsor on the 31^st.  The defending state champion Tigers are 6-0 in league action with Windsor a game back at 5-1.  Sterling has won every contest by at least 18 points including the convincing win over Windsor.  The Wizards moved past Roosevelt by just five points but have won their remaining four league games by an average of nearly 27 points.

No other team is above five hundred in either league competition or on the season.  Frederick (6-9), Skyline (5-8), Roosevelt (4-10) and Fort Morgan (4-10) all sit tied at 4-4 in league play and tied for third.  Each squad needs to get hot over the final month of the season to enhance their post-season chances.  OF those four, Frederick has played the best of late with four wins in their last five games.  The Warriors are coming off an important 71-57 non-league win over Wheat Ridge which will help their playoff hopes.  Ryan Miller (18 points) led four players in double figures and leads the team with 12 points a game on the season.  Lucas Adams (10.2) and Nathan Harrison (10.9) also provide a combined 21 points each night out.

Fort Morgan, which captured just one league win last year, is getting good play from TJ Schneider (10.5).  Dylan Cunningham (14.1) and Michael Mitchell (13.8) combine for 28 points for Roosevelt but the Roughriders enter the week on a three game losing skid.  Skyline has dropped three of four but has a pair of double digit scorers in Colton Dabney (11.6) and Marcus Rice (11.1).

JEFFCO

Most teams only have five or six conference games remaining and with the regular season winding down quickly, we should know by week’s end how many teams will remain in contention.  Valor Christian and D’Evelyn currently share the lead with Golden and Evergreen tied for third but only a game back of the two leaders.  Wins by Golden and Evergreen will create a four team “mess” atop the standings while victories by Valor Christian and D’Evelyn means the championship likely goes to the winner of their head-to-head clash on February 8^th.

The fun begins Wednesday night when Valor Christian entertains Golden and continues Friday when D’Evelyn plays host to Evergreen.

Valor Christian (13-1) has won four a in a row since a seven point loss to Legend.  The Eagles of course are unbeaten against 4A teams and are using frustration from a Great Eight loss to eventual state champion Sterling a year ago for motivation this season.  Chase Foster leads the Eagles with 18 points a game and the 6-5 sophomore has scored at least 11 points in every outing.  He dropped in 20 points in the quality league win over Evergreen to begin the January schedule.  6-8 junior Austin Sparks, with 17 points a night, is much more than just a second option as he could carry many teams.  He netted 15 in the win over Evergreen and has scored at least 14 points in all four games since.

Golden would be tied for the league lead if not for a 53-49 road loss at Evergreen last Friday.  That loss snapped the Demons seven game winning streak and was their first setback since a trip to Alaska in late December.  The leading scorer is Brad Chaco (15.5) who also pulls down nearly seven rebounds a game.  Austin Rickard also picks off seven boards a game and nearly matches Chaco in the scoring column with 13.6 points a night.  The junior totaled 19 in last Friday’s loss.  The guard tandem of Jordan Johnson (12.9) and Nate Hill (11.3) add punch from the outside combining for 57 three pointers overall.

Evergreen’s win over Golden kept them in the title discussion and now the Cougars have their sights set on another first place team.  The Cougars dropped their opening league contest to Valor Christian by 22 points (77-55) but have responded nicely with five straight league wins; a streak culminating against Golden.

Josh Conroy led the Cougars with 14 points vs. Golden but he received plenty of help from Andre Lane (12) and Colin Elmgreen (10).  For Conroy, the effort nearly doubled his season output (7.6) and marked his first time in double figures since scoring 16 points in the Valor Christian loss January 4^th.  With 15 points a night, Lane is the top scorer on the season and has been in double figures in every conference game except one (4 points vs Conifer).

Scoring just 54 points a game as a team, Evergreen is a patient team offensively and that trait will be put to test Friday against the high-flying Jaguars.  D’Evelyn averages a share under 80 points a night (79.7) and has been very good at forcing opponents into their up-tempo pace.  Defense has also played a role as the Jags are picking up nearly 16 steals a game and those are often converted into easy baskets on the other end.

Luke Stratman (23.9) is among the leading scorers in the state and he pushed his average even higher with a 40 point explosion against Wheat Ridge last Friday.  The junior guard fired in six three-pointers in the win marking his fourth game of at least five treys this year.  Stratman has at least two three-pointers in every game but two and has 48 for the season with 27 coming over his last six games; a stretch where he’s averaging 29 points.

WESTERN SLOPE

Haven’t heard much this year about Palisade but the Bulldogs have strung together 12 consecutive wins and thanks to a 59-49 win over Eagle Valley on January 6^th, sit in sole possession of first place.  They led the second place Devils by one game with the rematch set for this Saturday.  Another win over their league rivals will put them in complete control of the conference chase.

Defense has been the catalyst for a Bulldogs program needing just four more victories this year to match the win total of the previous two seasons combined.  In four of their five conference wins, the Palisade defense has given up less than 50 points and in the fifth surrendered 51 in a three point win at Steamboat Springs.

Despite the loss in the first meeting, Eagle Valley should have plenty of confidence against the Bulldogs.  They missed nearly 20 layups in the ten point setback and still picked up 13 points from Sam Lounsberry and 10 from Cooper Senn.  The Devils have also won four straight by at least 17 points apiece since the first meeting including a 17 point win over Glenwood Springs last week.

Palisade though will have a nice prep-game on Tuesday as they face Aspen in a battle of Western Slope conference leaders.  As mentioned, the Bulldogs top the 4A division with Aspen holding down a two game lead on Hotchkiss and Grand Valley in the 3A ranks.  Aspen will carry a nine game winning streak into the Tuesday night battle.

SOUTHWESTERN

Sole possession of first place goes to the winner of Tuesday’s battle between Montrose and Fruita Monument.  Both teams have raced to 3-0 starts which gives them a one game edge on third place Grand Junction (2-1).  Since Montrose also faces Grand Junction on Friday, it shapes up as a very important week for the Indians.

Montrose has used a ten game winning streak to crack the top ten for the first time this year.  The Indians are ranked 10^th by Colorado Preps this week.  With 71 points a game, the Indians prefer an up-tempo pace and are outscoring Fruita Monument (63.1) by nearly eight points on average.

The game will feature three of the most talented players in the Western half of the state.  Senior Nathan Hawley (23.5) is the only double digit scorer for Montrose while seniors Drew Bridges (21.9) and Alex Padgett (18.8) combine for nearly 41 points each game for the Wildcats.

Bridges is coming off a season low 15 points in the win over Montezuma Cortez (53-33) Saturday afternoon.  Remarkably consistent, he had scored between 18 and 27 points in all but one contest leading up to the weekend.  His season high of 30 came against Carbon UT in week one of the season.  For good measure, he pulls down 9.7 rebounds and adds two assists, two steals and two blocks per game.

Padgett had reached double figures in every game before being slowed last weekend totaling just 11 points overall in wins over Durango and Montezuma Cortez.  Padgett had recorded 28 points against Grand Junction and 24 vs Glenwood Springs in the two games preceding the four corners swing.

Hawley has probably not been better in high school career than in his last game.  He poured in 42 points against Battle Mountain which included seven of ten shooting from beyond the arc.  His 6-5 frame makes him a difficult matchup on the perimeter where he has 14 three pointers over his last three games and 46 for the season on just 95 attempts overall.  Hawley was six of ten from the arc against Delta where he scored 37 points and also hit five of seven three’s against Denver North.  Averaging 9.7 rebounds a night, he’s also recorded eight double-doubles on the season with a season high 16 rebounds against 3A Olathe.

CLASS 5A

#5 Regis vs #8 Mountain Vista (Tues)

#7 ThunderRidge vs Legend (Tues)

#10 Fossil Ridge vs Monarch (Tues)

#4 Arapahoe vs Eaglecrest (Wed)

#3 Denver East vs Thomas Jefferson (Thurs)

#7 ThunderRidge at #8 Mountain Vista (Fri)

#9 Eaglecrest at Cherry Creek (Fri)

NOTES: It’s a huge week for Mountain Vista.  The Golden Eagles are tied with Highlands Ranch, Chaparral and Regis for the Continental lead but they’ve not faced a team ranked in the top ten.  As a result, the Golden Eagles need to prove they belong with the state’s elite and they get that chance with games against Regis and ThunderRidge this week.  Wins in both make them both a conference championship contender and a team on the list of potential state champions.  ThunderRidge has already dropped a conference game so they too need a couple of wins this week to stay in contention.  Before battling Mountain Vista on Friday is a tough game with Legend on Tuesday.  The Titans are tied with ThunderRidge in fifth place.  Arapahoe has a two game edge in the Centennial so the Warriors job the rest of the season is to not slip up.  Eaglecrest is one of three teams trying to chase down Arapahoe and can cut the deficit in half by beating the Warriors on Wednesday.  Fossil Ridge has a two game lead in the Northern division of the Front Range conference but they face a strong challenge from Monarch.  The Coyotes trail Fairview by one game in the Southern division and can ill afford another loss in that chase.  Denver East blew past Kennedy in their league opener last week and now faces another 4A league opponent in Thomas Jefferson.  The Spartans (6-10) are well below five hundred but are always a tough out for the Angels.

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CLASS 4A

#4 Broomfield at Greeley Central (Tues)

#7 Coronado vs Wasson (Tues)

Kennedy at Thomas Jefferson (Tues)

#10 Montrose vs Fruita Monument (Tues)

#3 Valor Christian vs Golden (Wed)

#6 D’Evelyn vs Evergreen (Fri)

NOTES: As expected, Broomfield has the Northern conference lead but not expected is Greeley Central in second place.  The Wildcats have won five of their first six league games and can actually tie the Eagles for the top spot by beating them on Tuesday night.  Should Broomfield get the win, they have a nice two game cushion heading into the second round of conference action.  Wasson scored a quality league win over Cheyenne Mountain last Tuesday and this week, the Thunderbirds try to knock Coronado out of a first place tie in the CS Metro with Sierra and Lewis Palmer.  Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson could be battling for the top 4A seed from the City league.  That team routinely gets a top 10-12 seed in the 4A bracket because of the high quality play in that conference.  Montrose and Fruita Monument are both 3-0 inside the Southwestern league so Tuesday’s winner is alone in first going to the weekend. Valor Christian and D’Evelyn both remain unbeaten in league play with Golden and Evergreen one game back so the two matchups involving the top four teams will either make the race crowded or create some separation.

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CLASS 3A

#2 Valley vs University (Tues)

Pinnacle at Denver Science (Tues)

#1 Faith Christian vs Machebeuf (Thurs)

Centauri at Alamosa (Fri)

#8 Peak to Peak at Jefferson Academy (Sat)

#9 Aspen vs Hotchkiss (Sat)

NOTES: Before last Friday, four teams shared the Patriot lead but after results from the weekend only Valley and University remain perfect in conference play.  Tuesday’s winner will get the top spot to themselves.  Pinnacle and Denver Science are battling for post-season seeding for the Frontier conference district tournament.  Both teams are trying to chase down first place Clear Creek.  Faith Christian survived an upset bid by Jefferson Academy (42-40) last Saturday and with that win and the crazy results elsewhere around the league, the Eagles are alone atop the Metro conference and lead EIGHT teams by one game.  Machebeuf is one of them.  Jefferson Academy showed they’re not a walkover for a league win and will challenge Peak to Peak on Saturday.  Centauri and Alamosa (both 2-1) share the Mountain conference lead with Pagosa Springs (3-1).  It’s the only game of the week for the Falcons who lost the benefit of beating Pagosa Springs two weeks ago by dropping a four point game against Bayfield last Saturday.  Aspen beat Grand Valley Saturday to earn a two game on the Cardinals in the Western Slope.  Hotchkiss is also two games back so they try to stay in the race by ending the Skiers nine game winning streak.

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CLASS 2A

#1 Denver Christian vs Kent Denver (Tues)

#4 Sanford at Pagosa Springs (Tues)

#6 Resurrection Christian vs Heritage Christian (Tues)

#9 Wiggins vs Yuma (Tues)

#2 Limon at #6 Simla (1A) (Thurs)

West Grand vs Vail Christian (Thurs)

#3 Peyton vs #8 Byers (Fri)

#10 Akron vs Holyoke (Fri)

West Grand at Plateau Valley (Fri)

#9 Wiggins vs Haxtun (Sat)

Evangelical Christian at Calhan (Sat)

NOTES: Denver Christian rolled past Resurrection Christian by 19 points on Saturday and now Kent Denver is possibly the latest challenge between the Crusaders and a perfect regular season.  They beat the Sun Devils 45-37 in December one of just two games decided by less than points all season for D-C.  Because of the loss to Denver Christian, Resurrection Christian badly wants back on the floor to regain confidence.   They face a Heritage Christian club they beat by just three points in early December.  Sanford has already taken out Del Norte and Custer County and should breeze through the rest of their regular season slate but the Indians do get a very good test with 3A Pagosa Springs Tuesday night.  2A teams in the Lower Platte league have been very inconsistent this year.  Wiggins has beaten Akron, the Rams have beaten Yuma, Yuma has beaten Holyoke but the Dragons have topped Wiggins.  The merry-go round that is league play continues with several more games this week.  Haxtun is also a tough out as they’ve split two games with Akron this year.   Despite eight wins in ten games, West Grand is not gaining much traction statewide.  The Mustangs can change their perception with a pair of wins over quality 1A opponents Vail Christian and Plateau Valley this week.  They need wins in both to stay in contention for the Western Slope crown.  There are two huge games inside District Eight as Peyton meet Byers and Evangelical Christian goes to Calhan.  Peyton has won six straight, ECA seven in a row and Byers eight.  Calhan is coming off back-to-back district losses to Byers and Peyton and needs a win to stay alive for a top four seed.  Limon has not beaten a top 10 team this year but they get their first chance to do so against Simla (#6 in 1A) on Thursday.

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CLASS 1A

#8 Hi Plains at Bethune (Thurs)

#9 Cheyenne Wells vs Holly (Thurs)

Cotopaxi vs Custer County (Thurs)

#1 Caliche vs Yuma (Fri)

#2 Pawnee vs Fleming (Fri)

#4 Springfield vs Holly (Fri)

#1 Caliche vs Holyoke (Sat)

#5 Shining Mountain vs #6 Simla (Sat)

#7 Sierra Grande at Cotopaxi (Sat)

Vail Christian at Plateau Valley (Sat)

NOTES:  Fresh off an impressive 30 point win over Fleming last Friday, top ranked Caliche returns to Lower Platte league play against a pair of 2A opponents that have the ability to beat any team on a given night.  Yuma and Holyoke are a combined 15-8 on the season.  Fleming needs a quick rebound for a confidence boost but face another tough assignment against 2^nd ranked Pawnee.  They fell to the Coyotes 69-53 earlier this season and a second loss likely eliminates the Wildcats for the league title picture.  Holly was ranked 9^th last week but dropped out with a loss to Walsh.  This week the Wildcats have two chances to get back into the rankings with games against Cheyenne Wells and Springfield.  The game with Springfield is also important to district tournament seeds as both teams are battling Walsh for a top two spot.  Hi Plains appears to be the top team in the YWKC but Bethune stacks up as their top challenger.  The winner on Thursday could end up as the league champion and also earn the top overall seed for the district tournament.  Cotopaxi is 8-1 but has yet to crack the top ten so with games against Custer County and 7^th ranked Sierra Grande; the week is very important to the Pirates recognition wise.  We mentioned Simla’s big test with Limon (#2 in 2A) in the 2A recap but the Cubs also have a second quality matchup with Shining Mountain on Saturday.  Simla beat the Lions 46-30 in the state tournament last season.  Vail Christian and Plateau Valley are battling Norwood for seeding for the District One tournament.  Plateau Valley already has a loss to Norwood so they likely need a win to secure a top two position.

We begin with the South Central race where Pueblo Central used a Tuesday night win over Canon City to stay alone in first place.  The Wildcats moved past the Tigers 61-50 for a fourth straight win to open the conference slate.  Kevin Trujillo fired in six three-pointers on his way to a season high 31 points improving the Wildcats to 10-5 overall.  Zach Andrews added 13. 

Those two will be called upon for scoring again on Friday as Central dukes it out with Pueblo East Friday evening.  East enters the game at 3-1 in league play so they need a win to create a tie for the top spot.  The outcome is also very important to Central as a win gives them a very comfortable two game cushion on every other conference member.

East leading scorer Rudy Parks (14.3) has not played since Christmas but after dropping a two point decision at Canon City, the Eagles have picked off three consecutive wins.  Dylan Gavin (10.3) has picked up some of the scoring slack with 37 points during the three game streak and he continues to receive help from Jimmy Valdez (10.2) and Curtis Lewis (9.8).

Canon City and Pueblo West also hook up on Friday and it may serve as an elimination game.  Both have already suffered two league losses and are tied with Pueblo South for third place.  Both lost on Tuesday.  As mentioned Canon City fell to first place Pueblo Central while West was taken out by Pueblo East 61-47.

Maybe the deepest race at this point of the season is the Jeffco where three league teams are still unbeaten and two more have just one league loss.  Valor Christian, D’Evelyn and Golden are a combined 13-0 in league play while Evergreen (4-1) and Wheat Ridge (3-1) are a game back in fourth.  Some separation could occur on Friday when Golden visits Evergreen.

Golden opened league play with a hard fought seven point win over Elizabeth but hasn’t faced a conference challenge since.  Included in their current six game winning streak are victories over Conifer (68-45), Alameda (80-68) and Arvada (89-59).  Brad Chaco (15.6) is one of four Demons scoring in double figures and he’s coming off a 24 point effort against Arvada Wednesday night.  He’s averaging 17 points inside the conference.  Jordan Johnson (13.7) dishes out four assists per game but has looked to score more of late with 23 points in two of his last four outings.  Austin Rickard (13.2) has reached double figures in six straight games with a high 27 in the aforementioned win over Elizabeth.

Evergreen beat Elizabeth (67-52) last week and then added a nice win (56-44) over Green Mountain two nights later.  Those two quality wins kept the Cougars in the race despite an early loss to Valor Christian.  Austin Lane (15.8) has basically hit his average (47 points) during those three conference wins and Konnor Propst (12.3) has scored 36 points over the same span.

Looking back to Tuesday night, the highlights came from Sierra and Greeley Central.  Sierra picked up a whopping 49 points from C-U bound Wesley Gordon in a convincing 72-51 win over Sand Creek.  That effort pushed his season average past the 22 point mark and the win kept the Stallions tied with Lewis Palmer and Coronado (all 5-0) atop the rugged Colorado Springs Metro.  Sand Creek’s loss dropped them to 3-2 and into a four way tie for fourth place with Vista Ridge, Cheyenne Mountain and Wasson.  Cheyenne Mountain was considered a title threat at the start of the season but their costly loss to Wasson (55-45) Tuesday night likely dropped them from contention.  They already have two league losses and have yet to play Sierra, Lewis Palmer or Coronado.

Coronado is home to Mesa Ridge on Friday and then has a tough home date with Wasson on Tuesday.  The Cougars have won five in a row since a non-league loss to Falcon to close the December portion of the schedule.  They turned around and beat Falcon in conference play on January 10^th.  Eric Rayer leads the Cougars with 21 points a game and went for 30 in the win over Widefield earlier this week.

After the important win over Sand Creek, Sierra faces a stretch where they should be able to rest some key players for upcoming matchups with Coronado (February 2^nd) and Cheyenne Mountain (February 4^th).  Up next on the schedule are games with Falcon, Air Academy, Widefield and Discovery Canyon.  Lewis Palmer has outscored five league opponents by a combined 213 points and a similar margin could happen when they go to Woodland Park on Saturday.  A home game with Sand Creek on Tuesday should prove to be a better battle.

With their 68-53 upset of 9^th ranked Longmont Tuesday night, Greeley Central is suddenly a player in the Northern Conference.  That victory moved the Wildcats into sole possession of second place just one game back of first place Broomfield (5-0).  Central goes to Niwot on Friday and is expecting a win there but must avoid looking down the road to Tuesday’s first place battle with Broomfield. 

The turnaround for Central has been impressive.  Following a 56-51 loss to in-city rival Greeley West in the final game of December, the Wildcats stood at just 2-6.  Since the New Year, the Wildcats are 4-1 and almost unbeaten with their lone loss coming at the hands of Centaurus (53-52) by just one point.  In the win over Longmont, Sheldon Darnell poured in 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting which included a four of six effort from beyond the arc.  Darnell did not play in the team’s 2-5 start but is averaging 14.5 points in the last six games including four double digit efforts.

The complete list of games for Class 4A each day can be found on our sister website at www.coloradoscores.com.  Scores can be sorted by team, by class and by conference making it easier to track down the score of your choice.  We’ll also recap all the games on our Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show which airs each Friday night from 9-11pm on the Colorado Preps Radio Network.