The outright lead in the Western Slope chase is up for grabs on Saturday when De Beque (1A) makes the trek to Vail Christian. Right now, both teams are unbeaten in conference play and they share the lead and that can only change if the Saints are upset by West Grand on the road Friday. De Beque stayed perfect with their road win at Paonia on Wednesday.
The win pushed the Dragons to 6-0 in league play while Vail Christian sits 4-0 ahead of the trip to Kremmling. Plateau Valley (4-1) sits in third place and all other league teams have at least two conference losses. Vail Christian has already topped Plateau Valley (73-68) so another win over De Beque on Saturday puts the Saints in control of the conference race. De Beque meets Plateau Valley on February 2nd.
Vail Christian has won their last five including wins over Basalt and Hotchkiss last week. Four players carry most of the offensive burden with Alec Moritz (15.8) and Zack McKeever (15.2) virtually sharing the scoring lead. Moritz exploded for 32 points with eight three-pointers in the key win over Plateau Valley and added 19 in the win over Hotchkiss. McKeever also leads the club with 10.4 rebounds a night, totaled 22 points and 15 ‘boards against Hotchkiss.
More help comes from EJ Koller (10.6) and Jamison Lee (9.7). Koller adds nearly six rebounds per game and Lee over four assists.
Stats from Wednesday’s win over Paonia have not been added to the totals, but De Beque features two of the best players in Class 1A. Brennan Rigsby (20.6) leads the team in scoring and rebounds (9.0) and is nearing 800 career points (757) through just 33 games. Wes Ryan, a very good second option, averages nearly 18 points and seven rebounds each game.
Dillon Baumgardner (9.9) is almost a third double-digit scorer and he also hauls in nearly six rebounds per game.
Plateau Valley goes to Meeker on Friday and hosts North Park on Saturday. They need wins in both to stay within game of the Vail Christian — De Beque winner.
District tournaments are fast approaching and the set-up in the Santa Fe conference is different this year. The expanded conference has been divided into two five-team divisions and how teams end up in their division determines their placement in the district bracket. Teams that finish fourth and fifth in the respective divisions cross bracket in pig-tail games and those winners join six others in the district quarterfinals.
Heading to the weekend, the best race appears to be for spots 2-5 in the Western division. Fowler (5-1) has a two-game lead for the division title but the remaining four teams are separated by just one game. Hoehne and Swallows Charter are 4-3 with Rye and John Mall both at 4-4.
Those four clubs square off this week as Hoehne entertains Swallows Charter on Thursday and Rye visits John Mall Friday. Both are rematches from earlier matchups with Rye and Swallows Charter gaining the wins.
Rye topped John Mall 45-39 back on December 14th as the Thunderbolts outscored the Panthers 13-4 at the foul line and won the rebound battle 39-25. Michael Valdez, with 11 points, paced nine Thunderbolts in the scoring column while Byron Brown led John Mall with 14.
Swallows Charter earned a 43-33 win over Hoehne in December. A fast start was the difference as the Spartans built up a commanding 24-3 halftime advantage. Devon Jones (11) and Jared Garret (9) combined for 20 for the winners. The Spartans also won the free throw (12-4) and rebounding battle (46-32). Hoehne earned 15 from Federico Orozco and 13 from Trystan Molter but the remaining Farmers totaled just five.
Hoehne also meets Fowler on Friday so the Farmers have an important week. Two wins get them back within one game of the first place Grizzlies. It’s the first of two meetings with Fowler as they battle a second time on February 7th.
Top ranked Holly (8-0) has a two-game edge over Rocky Ford (4-2) in the Eastern division. Crowley County is third at 3-5 while Swink (1-7) and Las Animas (0-8) are well off the pace. Holly goes to Crowley County on Friday while Rocky Ford hosts Las Animas (Friday) and John Mall (Saturday).
Mancos took control of the San Juan chase with wins over Ignacio and Ridgway last week. The Bluejays finished the week 5-0 in league play with a one game edge on Ouray. Ridgway, Telluride and Ignacio share third place with two losses apiece. Mancos and Ouray were scheduled to play last Friday but that game was postponed due to weather.
Against Ridgway, Mancos started fast with a 27-12 first quarter lead and were not pushed from there. Show Showalter nailed five three-pointers on his way to a game high 24 points.   Christian Cova also had a big day; finishing with 11 points, 10 assists and four steals. Caden Showalter added 16 points and Hunter Hoover pulled down nine rebounds.
Mancos has just one game this week. They go to Telluride on Saturday.
Concerning the race for third, Telluride and Ridgway were scheduled to play on Wednesday night but results from that game have not been posted. Ridgway and Ignacio are now off the rest of the week ahead of their big matchup on February 1st.
Highland (5-0) and Denver Christian (6-0) hold down the top spot in the Mile-High conference. The two leaders meet on February 8th but both teams will have challenges before that game. Highland goes to Clear Creek on Thursday and Denver Christian visits Heritage Christian the same night.
The Huskies are playing at a high level these days. They scored an important win over Heritage Christian (87-55) last Friday and then followed up with a 100-65 blowout of Twin Peaks Charter on Tuesday. The Huskies scored 47 first half points against Heritage Christian and added a 38-point third quarter against Twin Peaks Charter.
Denver Christian has won nine straight games and over the last two weeks, the Thunder have dropped Longmont Christian, Clear Creek and Gilpin County. The last win came on Tuesday in a dominating 60-38 win over the Tigers who was unbeaten in league play entering the game.
Heritage Christian has two league losses and is likely out of the championship picture because of the Highland. The Eagles played most of the game without leading Josiah Bowser (18.7) as he was on the floor for just four minutes during the first three quarters due to foul trouble. He still managed 15 points but most came in the fourth quarter when the outcome was already decided.
Dayspring Christian (2-1) shares third place with Gilpin County (4-1). The Eagles have won three of four and surprisingly climbed into the CHSAA Top 10 this week. They have a tough one against Longmont Christian (1A) on Friday.
The Union Pacific race will be decided when Limon and Byers collide on February 8th. Both are 3-0 in league play and share the top spot there. The future matchup will also play a major role in the district bracket as the Badgers are fifth in RPI and Byers seventh. Denver Christian will also be in the bracket. The Thunder are 9th in RPI but have a win over Limon earlier this year. Byers goes to Denver Christian on February 2nd. That game is part of a brutal closing stretch for the Bulldogs who also meet Yuma on February 1st, Limon as mentioned on the 8th and Peyton on the 12th.
Peyton is tied with Simla top the Black Forest standings (3-0). They meet on February 1st in Peyton and that game should determine the top two spots. Simla was slated to face Limon in a highly anticipated non-conference game this past Tuesday but it was postponed by weather. It will be made up February 5th. The Cubs this week host Thomas MacLaren on Friday. Peyton will be favored at home against Fountain Valley that same night.
Some conference games continue to be sprinkled in, but the leaders in the Southern Peaks conference continue to face off in non-league action ahead of conference battles in February. Last week, Del Norte beat Sargent and then Sargent knocked off Sanford. Del Norte entertains Sanford on Friday in another non-league game and a win there puts the Tigers atop the list of league favorites.
Against Sargent, Kade Glover and Izeah Peterson hit just eight of 38 combined shots but still finished with 34 points overall. Glover led the way with 18 and also added nine rebounds, four assists and five steals. Peterson managed a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Sargent gets involved in league play this week with road games at Center on Friday and Crested Butte on Saturday. The Farmers have a 63-50 win over Center in non-league play. This will be their first and only meeting with Crested Butte.
Probably the most important game inside the Lower Platte is Friday between Merino (1A) and Sedgwick County. Both are battling Yuma and Haxtun (1A) for a top two finish.
Merino (4-6) has dropped two straight and three of their last four but the Rams are much better than the record indicates. They have a win over Haxtun and pushed 1A defending state champion Peetz to within two points (72-70). Main offensive threats include Nathan Batt, Kayd Goss and Cade Conger.
Sedgwick County has won four straight and is 5-2 since Christmas with losses to Haxtun (59-56) and a Nebraska opponent. The Cougars were very young to open the season but come the district tournament will be a very tough out. Ethan Walter is one of the few key players returning from last year but the Cougars continue to improve with development from the likes of Terrance Heath and Gavin Thode.
Conference favorite and now 2nd ranked Yuma hosts Holyoke on Friday and a win keeps them unbeaten in league play. The Indians are coming off their first loss of the season following a tough trip to Sidney NE last Saturday. Haxtun takes a break from the Lower Platte and will visit Otis on Saturday. It could be a preview of a district semifinal or championship as both will compete in 1A District Five next month.
