Mountain Vista’s marquee win over Rock Canyon last week has the Golden Eagles in prime position to win its league title and claim the No. 1 spot in the state postseason.

Heck of a win.

Caden Stevens had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, Radek Homer added 21 and Mountain Vista took over the top spot in the Class 6A/5A Continental League as well as the 6A classification as a whole.

Rock Canyon, the classification’s previous No. 1 team, dropped to second behind the Golden Eagles in the 6A coaches poll and the RPI rankings this week. The Jaguars are a game behind them in the league standings with four remaining.

In this week’s look at the big classifications in boys basketball, we’ll dive into a few of the most intriguing races across 6A, 5A and 4A.

Continental League: No. 1 in Class 6A

Driver’s seat: No. 1 Mountain Vista (17-2, 6-0). It starts with Stevens here.

He has continued his sensational senior campaign into late January and the start of this month, going 23 of 32 from the field over his last three games.

Stevens is now averaging 16.9 PPG, 7.8 boards and 4.6 blocks this winter for the No. 1 team in Class 6A.

The Golden Eagles are at Heritage Tuesday night.

Challenger: No. 2 Rock Canyon (17-2, 5-1). The Jaguars had won 15 straight before their second loss of the season to Mountain Vista.

Now, they will likely need to win out and get help to jump Mountain Vista in either the race for a league title or the No. 1 spot in the 6A postseason.

The Jags shot a season-worst 31% in the loss to the Golden Eagles last Thursday.

Rock Canyon is at Ponderosa Tuesday.

Class 5A No. 1 seed

Driver’s seat: Air Academy (18-2). The Kadets moved into the top spot in the coaches poll, edging out Mesa Ridge with 10 first-place votes to nine.

Air Academy is also first in the 5A RPI standings, topping the Grizzlies by .002 points.

Corbin Garver scored 17 in Air Academy’s second win over defending champ Lewis-Palmer last week. He followed it up with 27 on just 11 shots in a win over Discovery Canyon.

The Kadets, winners of 14 in a row now, are at Cheyenne Mountain Tuesday.

Challenger: Mesa Ridge (20-0). The Grizzlies are the lone unblemished team in the big classifications, having won 20 straight. They beat Coronado, Widefield and Pueblo County by 32, 46 and 27 last week.

And yet they fell in the rankings.

Life isn’t fair, even for the perfect it seems.

As part of Mesa Ridge’s dominance, it has let just three teams score more than 50 points in 2023.

The Grizzlies are at Harrison Wednesday.

6A Centennial League

Driver’s seat: Smoky Hill (16-3, 5-1). Rickey Mitchell will be in consideration for the state’s best player, averaging 25.4 points and 4.3 assists per game.

The senior has scored at least 20 points in seven of his last nine games and has been over 30 three times during that stretch.

He’ll be in the spotlight once again when Smoky Hill hosts Grandview Wednesday before the Centennial League dives into its championship tournament.

Challenger: Grandview (12-7, 5-1). The Wolves, while playing perhaps their best basketball over the last two weeks, have won five straight.

Colin Bilotta has been at his best from deep of late, going 10 of 15 behind the arc in his last three games. He is shooting 40% from 3-point range this winter.

Uk Onyenwere has been a strong addition for the Wolves since his first game on Jan. 11. He is averaging 12.3 points, 7.3 boards and 4.4 assists in his nine games.

No. 1 in 4A and 4A/3A Metro League title

Driver’s seat: 3A No. 1 Faith Christian (15-0, 6-0). The Eagles are undefeated on the season, most recently winning at Kent Denver Friday to take sole control in the league race.

Ben Clark had 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the win.

Faith Christian is home against Eagle Ridge Academy Tuesday.

Driver’s seat/Challenger: 4A No. 1 Kent Denver (16-3, 9-1). The Sun Devils are ranked first in the classification but trail Faith Christian by a game in the league race.

Jay Royal has averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 boards and 3.4 steals for Kent Denver this winter.

The Sun Devils are at ERA Thursday.

Challenger: 4A No. 2 Eagle Ridge Academy (13-3, 5-2). The Warriors get both Faith Christian and Kent Denver this week.

A pair of wins would go a long way in both races.

Hunter Hill, averaging 17.2 PPG, has shot at least 60% from the field in seven of his last nine games.

Other races to track:

Fort Collins (16-2, 10-0) and Fossil Ridge (17-2, 10-1) in the 6A Front Range League. The Lambkins beat the Sabercats 55-52 last week, taking sole possession of first place in the FRL. Fort Collins has five league games remaining while Fossil Ridge has four.

Windsor (15-4, 9-1) and Mead (16-3, 8-2) in the 6A/5A/4A Northern Colorado Athletic Conference. The Mavericks have won five straight since falling to the Wizards on Jan. 24. The two will meet again Feb. 15.

Dakota Ridge (15-4, 8-0), D’Evelyn (11-7, 7-1) and Green Mountain (12-7, 7-1) in the 5A/4A Jefferson County League. Dakota Ridge is home against D’Evelyn Wednesday. The Jaguars are then home to the Rams Friday. Dakota Ridge, meanwhile, already beat Green Mountain.

Pueblo South (13-6, 6-0) and Pueblo Central (15-5, 6-1) in the 5A/4A South Central League. South beat Central by 24 last week. The two play again on Feb. 16.