There may only be four more days remaining in the 2022-23 boys basketball regular season, but that doesn’t mean those four days don’t hold meaning.
While district tournament play for Class 3A, 2A and 1A will get rolling next week – with 32 regional spots at stake – the final few days of the season can still determine league champions and seeding for district play.
Look no further than Tuesday evening, when fourth-ranked Simla locked up the 2A Black Forrest League title with a 51-44 victory over No. 3 Evangelical Christian. The two teams entered the game tied atop the league standings, but the Cubs (15-3, 5-0) brought home the victory.
Also Tuesday night, 1A’s top-ranked Belleview Christian clinched the 5280 League crown thanks to a 58-50 victory over No. 3 Denver Jewish Day. The Bruins are one of three teams unbeaten in the regular season.
As the regular season comes to a close, here is a quick look at the 3A, 2A and 1A classifications:
Class 3A
Centauri scored perhaps the biggest victory of the past week last Friday, with the Falcons earning a split with 4A Alamosa via a 43-40 victory. The No. 3 Falcons (16-3, 8-2 in Intermountain) got a big game from Chaz Holman, who scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. That snapped a 13-game winning streak for the fourth-ranked Mean Moose, who can still wrap up the league title with a victory over Bayfield on Thursday.
After seeing its hopes of an unbeaten season dashed in a six-point loss to 4A Eagle Ridge Academy on Feb. 7, top-ranked Faith Christian bounced back with an 82-66 rout of No. 7 Prospect Ridge Academy. The Eagles (16-1, 7-1 in Metro) overcame a 30-point showing from Max Vacco, who also had seven steals for the Miners (11-6, 3-4).
No. 5 Yuma has a ½-game lead for first place in the Lower Platte after a 72-65 loss to 2A’s fifth-ranked Merino last Friday, followed by a 77-35 victory over Caliche on Tuesday. Jesus Ross, Daman Hernandez and Forest Rutledge each scored 14 points for Yuma (13-4, 7-1). Merino and Wray each have one league game remaining.
Ahead of a big Tri-Peaks showdown with Colorado Springs Christian on Wednesday, The Vanguard School found itself on the short end of a 56-52 loss to Manitou Springs last Thursday. The Coursers (16-2, 11-2) bounced back to defeat James Irwin and St. Mary’s to remain tied for second with Manitou Springs in league play behind Salida. Drew Houchens and Nathan Morris led five players in double figures against the Mustangs with 16 points each.
A streaking Cedaredge squad moved into the top 10 with nine consecutive victories and shares the Western Slope League title with Roaring Fork going into Thursday’s finale. The Bruins (15-3, 10-1) split the season-series with the Rams (13-5, 10-1). Luke Maxey leads the squad at 15.1 points a game and Gideon Gilmore is averaging a double-double at 12.4 points and 12.9 rebounds.
Class 2A
Simla is among the classification’s hotter teams. The victory over No. 3 Evangelical Christian gave the Cubs (15-3, 5-0) a leg up going into Saturday’s regular-season finale with Kit Carson.
The Eagles (16-2, 4-1) lost for the second time in four games – the other setback came Feb. 6 against top-ranked Limon.
The Badgers have already wrapped up the Union Pacific crown, but still have games against 1A No. 6 Stratton and 4A No. 10 Sterling.
No. 2 Crowley County closed out the regular season with a perfect 19-0 mark after downing 3A Ellicott 59-46 last Thursday. Gunner Hughes tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Fifth-ranked Merino (12-6, 6-1) needs a victory over Haxtun on Friday to try and keep the three-way tie atop the Lower Platte standings with Yuma and Wray. The sixth-ranked Eagles (12-6, 6-1) close with Wiggins.
Cheyenne Wells earned an upset victory over No. 8 Holly, 60-57, last Saturday. Ty Scheler paced the 1A No. 10 Tigers (11-7) with 19 points.
Devin Eaton had a big night for Holly (15-4) with 26 points on 11-for-13 shooting.
Class 1A
Belleview Christian passed its final regular-season test Tuesday night with its biggest victory of the season, thanks to Nathaniel Owen’s 18 points. The Bruins (19-0, 7-0) handed Denver Jewish Day (14-3, 6-1) an eight-point setback, the Tigers’ second-consecutive loss. Denver Jewish Day also dropped a non-league contest to 3A Bishop Machebeuf on Thursday, falling 52-50.
No. 2 McClave has a chance to run the table on the High Plains League when it closes out the season Friday with Cheraw. The Cardinals (14-3, 4-0) topped No. 9 Fleming 60-38 on Friday as Aydin Gomez, Aiden Martinez and Connor Forgue combined to score 49 of the team’s points.
Sixth-ranked Stratton has dropped three of five and two in a row going into its final two games. One of those losses came to fourth-ranked Genoa-Hugo/Karval, which fell to No. 10 Cheyenne Wells 47-34 on Tuesday night. The Pirates (13-4) have a non-league showdown with No. 5 Otis on Saturday to close out the regular season.
Otis (14-3) has won 12 in a row after its big 70-65 victory over 2A Merino on Tuesday night.
