Regular season concludes this week in 4A and 5A boys’ basketball. Goals for the teams remain two-fold; win a conference championship and then improve your placement in the postseason bracket. Colorado Preps looks at each league race and sets the scene for the final week.
Photo provided by Lance Wendt.
CLASS 4A
COLORADO: Quite a bit left to decide as the top four clubs play each other twice in the final week. Englewood and Aurora Central remain unbeaten with Fort Lupton and Eagle Ridge Academy tied for third with one loss apiece. Englewood and Aurora Central were scheduled to play last Thursday but the game was delayed until Monday due to weather. The outcome could decide the league champion but both the Pirates and Trojans have a game against third place teams. Fort Lupton and Eagle Ridge Academy also step on the same court.
- MONDAY: Aurora Central at Englewood
- TUESDAY: Eagle Ridge Academy at Fort Lupton
- THURSDAY: Fort Lupton at Aurora Central
- SATURDAY: Englewood at Eagle Ridge Academy
CS METRO NORTH: Sand Creek and Elizabeth share the conference lead. Each has one conference loss. The tie will be broken on Tuesday when they meet for a second time. Sand Creek took game one 64-59 and should secure the league title if they record a season sweep. The Scorpions also visit Sierra on Thursday while the Cards do double conference duty against Sierra on Friday and Mitchell on Saturday.
- TUESDAY: Sand Creek at Elizabeth
CS METRO SOUTH: It’s a very tight race with still no clear-cut favorite. Canon City (6-3) and Palmer (5-3) share the lead by one game over Coronado (4-4). Canon City and Palmer have met twice with each team gaining a win so there’s a chance they end up sharing the crown. An unusual finish has Palmer meeting Coronado twice in the final week; Canon City has just one conference game left.
- MONDAY: Coronado at Palmer
- TUESDAY: Canon City at Mesa Ridge
- TUESDAY: Palmer at Coronado
JEFFCO: While the teams continued to battle one another last week, the league standings were finalized the week before. Evergreen won the title in a tie-breaker over Green Mountain with Golden a game back in third. Green Mountain and Evergreen rematch this week but again all remaining games are non-league affairs.
- MONDAY: Golden at Green Mountain (non-league)
- WEDNESDAY: Green Mountain at Evergreen (non-league)
LONGS PEAK: Thompson Valley and Severance both sit at 7-1 with Mountain View and Frederick in third with identical 6-2 records. Thompson Valley beat Severance last week so they capture the championship by beating Niwot on Monday night. It’s their last conference game. Should that happen, Severance must beat Frederick the same night to secure second. A loss there opens the door for Mountain View to create a three-way tie for second by beating Fort Morgan. All four league leaders have cross conference matchups with the rugged Northern conference to close the regular season.
- MONDAY: Thompson Valley at Niwot
- MONDAY: Severance at Frederick
- THURSDAY: Thompson Valley at Windsor (non-league)
- THURSDAY: Severance at Mead (non-league)
- THURSDAY: Frederick at Longmont (non-league)
- FRIDAY: Thompson Valley at Longmont (non-league)
- FRIDAY: Windsor at Mountain View (non-league)
- SATURDAY: Severance at Holy Family (non-league)
NORTHERN: It has been a crazy race but schedule makers got it right here as Longmont and Windsor conclude the regular season on the same court. Both enter the clash at 6-1 in league play so the winner ends up with the coveted championship. Erie is third at 4-2 but has finished their league slate. Holy Family, Mead and Silver Creek each have three league losses. Holy Family closes conference play with Greeley West; Silver Creek meets Greeley Central and Mead is through with league play.
- TUESDAY: Longmont at Windsor
PIKES PEAK: Fountain Fort Carson is the lone club with one league loss (4-1) and they lead Rampart, Doherty, Lewis Palmer and Vista Ridge by one game in the loss column. The Trojans still have work to do as they meet Lewis Palmer and Pine Creek this week. Lewis Palmer lost a share of the conference lead with a 62-56 loss to Pine Creek last week. Of the top five teams, Rampart is the only one without a game against one of the four.
- MONDAY: Vista Ridge at Doherty
- TUESDAY: Vista Ridge at Lewis Palmer
- WEDNESDAY: Fountain Fort Carson at Lewis Palmer
- FRIDAY: Fountain Fort Carson at Pine Creek
SOUTH CENTRAL: Pueblo Central (8-0) is unbeaten against conference clubs with Pueblo South (7-1) one game back. Central won the first meeting with South (56-50) with game two set for Monday night. It will determine the order of the top two. Central of course is the league champ with another win; South earns a share of the crown if they avenge the earlier decision.
- MONDAY: Pueblo Central at Pueblo South
WEST SLOPE: Steamboat Springs (9-0) continues to lead the standings by two games over Palisade (7-2). Those two teams meet in the regular season finale on Saturday but if the Sailors beat both Eagle Valley (Tuesday) and Battle Mountain (Thursday) before then; they will have already clinched the championship. Maybe their best test of the week is on Monday against 3A Coal Ridge. Steamboat Springs is 2nd overall in RPI. Palisade will be favored in early week games against Rifle and Battle Mountain.
- MONDAY: Coal Ridge at Steamboat Springs (non-league)
- SATURDAY: Steamboat Springs at Palisade
CLASS 5A
CENTENNIAL: Cherry Creek (11-0) right now is favored to land the state championship but the first order is to land the conference crown. They lead Eaglecrest (7-1) by one game. The Bruins and Raptors meet on Saturday and that game should decide the top two spots provided Eaglecrest also beats Arapahoe and Mullen Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
- TUESDAY: Mountain Vista at Cherry Creek (non-league)
- SATURDAY: Cherry Creek at Eaglecrest
CONTINENTAL: Standings did not change last week as many games were wiped out because of weather. Entering the final week, ThunderRidge (3-0), Chaparral (5-0) and Regis (6-0) continue to battle for the top spot. All others have at least two league losses. The ThunderRidge schedule includes league games with Heritage and Legend so they should end up without a loss. They also have two big non-league encounters. Chaparral and Regis though do battle on Friday.
- MONDAY: ThunderRidge at George Washington (non-league)
- MONDAY: Chatfield at Chaparral (non-league)
- WEDNESDAY: Regis at Mountain Vista
- FRIDAY: Chaparral at Regis
- SATURDAY: Valor Christian at ThunderRidge (non-league)
DENVER PREP: Denver East (8-0) has a one game edge on George Washington and Lincoln. The Angels topped George earlier this year and the game with Lincoln slated for last week was postponed. So far, MaxPreps does not have a new date for the contest. Lincoln has just four games to date and needs three more to become playoff eligible. They’re scheduled to meet Thomas Jefferson, DSST-Green Valley and Denver North this week.
- MONDAY: ThunderRidge at George Washington (non-league)
EAST METRO: Rangeview and Vista peak are 6-0 with a one game edge on third place Gateway (4-1). Rangeview meets Vista Peak to close the season but also has a date with Gateway midway through the week. They of course will be favored in both as they remain a strong state championship contender. Vista Peak topped Gateway 64-39 on Feb 23rd.
- WEDNESDAY: Rangeview at Gateway
- SATURDAY: Vista Peak at Rangeview
FRONT RANGE: It’s Fairview (9-0) by one game over Fossil Ridge (7-1) and Rocky Mountain (6-1). Horizon is fourth at 6-2. The Knights have just two games remaining but Wednesday is a tough battle against the Sabercats on the road. Rocky Mountain has a league win over Fossil Ridge but also a battle with Horizon to finish up.
- WEDNESDAY: Fairview at Fossil Ridge
- FRIDAY: Horizon at Rocky Mountain
JEFFCO: Like we see in the 4A division, the league race was finished up a couple of weeks ago but league teams continue to battle one another. Valor Christian is the league champion. They tied with Chatfield at 7-1 but won the head-to-head battle. Ralston Valley ended up third (6-2). While the Eagles and Chargers get in non-league games this week, the Mustangs have concluded their season at 9-5 overall.
- MONDAY: Chatfield at Chaparral (non-league)
- SATURDAY: Valor Christian at ThunderRidge (non-league)
SOUTHWESTERN: Class 4A Montrose (6-0) has two conference games left but the Indians have secured the championship as they have a three-game edge on all other clubs. They’re third in RPI so wins in the final two remain important as they look to improve their post-season bracketing. Grand Junction and Fruita Monument share second. They play a second time on Friday.
- FRIDAY: Grand Junction at Fruita Monument
