Then there were none.
The last undefeated team in Class 4A boys basketball fell by the wayside Saturday. Taking a break from Pikes Peak League play, Lewis-Palmer hosted 5A Liberty and saw things go awry in the second quarter. The Lancers outscored the Rangers by 12 points in the frame on their way to a 71-58 victory.
Sean Bohuslavsky scored a season-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting — including a 5-of-7 night from 3-point range — and Dailin Smith added 15 points for Liberty (12-4).
Matthew Ragsdale had 21 points for Lewis-Palmer (13-1), which was coming off league victories over Discovery Canyon and Air Academy to remain undefeated in league play.
The Rangers are still in a great position in the 4A ranks as January winds down though, and they aren’t the only ones. Longmont improved to 10-1 and remained unbeaten in the Northern League last week with victories over Silver Creek (66-64) and Northridge (54-33). The Trojans withstood a furious rally from Silver Creek in the final quarter and 22 points from Trent Dykema.
Glenwood Springs (13-3) is also 6-0 in league play in the Western Slope after knocking off Steamboat Springs and Summit, sandwiched around a non-league victory over 5A Fruita Monument. Angel Garcia had a combined 53 points in the three victories that pushed the Demons’ winning streak to seven games.
Valor Christian (9-6, 6-0 in Jeffco League) also is riding a seven-game winning streak after edging Wheat Ridge by two points and Evergreen by five. Jeremy Randle led the Eagles with 13 points against the Farmers, who had an impressive fourth-quarter rally that just fell short. Hunter Shkapich scored 19 points in the victory over the Cougars.
Mesa Ridge is the other team to push its league mark to 6-0 after holding off Woodland Park and then lighting up the scoreboard with 89 points against Mitchell. Tristan Widic tallied a season-high 24 points in the latter victory.
Golden (12-3, 5-1) put up a combined 145 points in victories over Littleton and Green Mountain. Adam Thistlewood had 44 of those points in the two wins.
Headed into their huge clash Tuesday night, Pueblo West (12-2) and Pueblo South (12-2) each opened up South Central play in fine fashion with a pair of victories each. South scored a season-high 81 points in a victory over Pueblo Central and poured in 70 points just one night later against Pueblo County.
Holy Family (9-6) bounced back from back-to-back losses to top Erie and Mead and remain tied with Windsor (10-5) at the top of the Tri-Valley standings. Tanner Baird had 23 and 26 points, respectively, in the two victories. The Wizards dropped their first league game to Mead but responded with victories over Berthoud and Roosevelt. Kirk Relford scored a combined 52 points in the two victories, including a season-high 30 points against Roosevelt.
With a little more than three weeks remaining in the regular season, here is a look at some of the upcoming week’s top games in the 4A classification:
The week’s top game takes place in the Steel City as Pueblo South pays a visit to Pueblo West on Tuesday night in what is sure to be a raucous scene at CSU-Pueblo.
South has won six in a row since a loss to Lewis-Palmer and has averaged right around 72 points during that stretch. West’s winning streak is at nine games. Nieyeme Smeyer-Williams is averaging 17.2 points and 4.1 assists for the Cyclones, who split with the Colts in two regular-season meetings last season before falling by two points to South in the state playoffs.
With three 10-win teams currently residing in the Northern League, two of those squads tangle Tuesday night as Longmont takes its nine-game winning streak into Loveland with a date against Thompson Valley (10-4, 4-2).
The Trojans are a two-point, overtime loss to Golden from being undefeated this season. Luke Johnson is averaging 18 points a night and Longmont continues to ride a balanced offense behind the senior. Thompson Valley had a six-game winning streak snapped Friday night at Greeley Central, as the Eagles couldn’t overcome their first-quarter struggles in a 10-point loss. Justin Wiersema’s average is sitting a 21.4 points through 14 games.
Erie (8-6, 3-3) has had an up-and-down run in the Tri-Valley thus far, but the Tigers’ three league losses have come by a combined 16 points. Erie travels to Windsor on Tuesday.
Three players are scoring in double figures for the Tigers, with Jeffrey Farineau (13.7 points) and Jadon Lucero (13.2) leading the offense. Relford leads Windsor at 19 points a game and Tyler McGinnis isn’t far behind at nearly 18.
With Valor Christian riding a hot streak in the Jeffco League, the two teams immediately behind the Eagles in the standings meet up Wednesday night as Golden hosts Evergreen.
The Demons have won three in a row since falling to Valor Christian, but have a challenging week with both the Cougars and D’Evelyn (8-7) coming to the high school. Adam Thistlewood has been consistent as usual for the Demons, averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds. Evergreen, which had won eight in a row, counters with seniors Bridger Tenney (16.4 points per game) and Chase Rogers (15.9).
Lewis-Palmer looks to get back on the winning track Wednesday night when the Rangers visit Palmer Ridge (11-4, 4-2).
The Bears split two games last week, falling to Vista Ridge 59-50 before downing Sand Creek. Nick Boldvich scored a season-high 18 points against Sand Creek thanks to a 9-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. Scott (18.6 points) and Ragsdale (16.4) continue to be one of the better 1-2 punches in 4A for the Rangers.
As teams try to contend with Lewis-Palmer in the Pikes Peak, they inevitably continue to beat each other up. But Falcon (9-4, 2-2) has been trending upward after winning four in a row, including three victories last week.
