Four of the five top ranked teams in boys’ basketball hit the court tonight as we experience our first Friday of the season. All together there are 29 ranked teams in action this evening.
Limon (2A) and Mead (4A) make their season debuts tonight as they open the campaign ranked number one in their class. The Badgers meet local rival in Genoa Hugo and it should be a good matchup as the Pirates are ranked #7 in Class 1A. Mead steps up to 5A for their meeting with Horizon.
Coming off a third straight football title, Limon was also in the mix for the state basketball crown last Spring when the season was cancelled. The Badgers beat Peyton 43-34 in the state quarterfinals in what turned out to be their last game of the year. The top four scorers from that club return in Camden Smithburg (16.8), Kory Tacha (14.4), Alex Carr (10.9) and Brady Rockwell (5.7). They combined for 39 of the teams’ 43 points in last year’s win over Peyton.
Genoa Hugo enters the game 1-0 after beating Kiowa 42-34 on Thursday night. They jumped to a 13-4 advantage through the first quarter and held that margin most of the game. The Pirates were 12-10 last season.
Mead also reached the semifinals in 4A last year by beating Lincoln (69-63) in the Great 8. But like all other teams at that point, the Mavericks were not given the chance to finish the run. They ended the season at 25-1 with a lone loss to Palmer (94-91) in their season opener. Four of the top five scorers were seniors so the Mavericks will look to Elijah Knudsen (11.6) and JP Shiers (7.1) early on. Knudsen also buried 68 three pointers as a sophomore.
Horizon is 0-1 after falling to Chaparral 56-52 on Tuesday night. With 19 points, Xavier Harris led the Hawks in scoring while Coby Jimenez recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Lutheran (3A) and Cherry Creek (5A) look to finish the opening week at 2-0 with wins over University and Mullen respectively.
The Lions downed Holy Family 73-59 on Wednesday as they limited the Tigers to just 45 percent shooting from the field. University meantime looks for a better showing that in the 80-43 loss to Faith Christian on Tuesday. Tayt Chacon scored 19 points but was the only Bulldog in double figures.
Cherry Creek bounced Arapahoe 70-60 in their opener; getting 18 points from Christian Hammond, 16 from Julian Hammond and 11 from Myles Purchase. The Bruins outrebounded the Warriors 36-28 and also outscored them from the foul line 21-6. Mullen scored an impressive 52-50 win over Grandview on Wednesday; their first win in 12 tries against the Wolves.
DeBeque is the last team to win a 1A state title as they beat Sangre De Cristo for the 2019 championship. They start this season ranked #2 and open against Plateau Valley. Senior Wes Ryan averaged 23 points a game last year and enters his senior campaign with 1,324 career points. Sangre is #9 in Class 1A and opens at Custer County. The T-Birds won 20 games last season but lost leading scorer Cole Christensen (22.6) to graduation.
In Class 2A, Fowler debuts the 2021 campaign against 3A Colorado Springs Christian. The Grizzlies seek a third consecutive visit to the Great 8 where they fell to Yuma in the state quarterfinals last season. Seniors Val Leone (18.2) and Gabe Proctor (10.6) should again pace the offense.
#5 Sanford continues their busy first week with a nice matchup against Mancos tonight. The Indians opened by beating Custer County (56-37) on Thursday and also tangle with Ignacio on Saturday. Mancos sits just outside the top 10 and has a very good tandem of Connor Showalter (15.6) and Evan Sehnert (11.8) back in the lineup.
In Class 3A, good rivalry games between #8 Centauri-Alamosa and #10 Coal Ridge-Glenwood Springs are on the schedule tonight. The first is a key game inside the IML where both the Falcons and Moose are expected to battle for the crown. It’s the first of two meetings. Coal Ridge had their season opener with Steamboat Springs cancelled earlier in the week so this is their first game of the season. Glenwood edged Basalt 50-42 on Tuesday.
Also of note is a good battle between #5 Resurrection Christian and Highland. The Cougars were unbeaten last year when the season came to a close but will debut almost a completely new lineup for first year coach Ryan Yoder. Highland looks to bounce back from a 79-65 loss to Eaton where they gave up eight three-pointers.
In 4A, #2 Lewis Palmer and Centaurus should be a good game. Both teams won their first games earlier this week. The Rangers topped Widefield 56-47 as Edward Speller (16), Colin Westfall (14) and Brady Jones (12) all reached double figures. Centaurus fought past Far Northeast 65-48. The Warriors put 11 players on the scoresheet including 20 from Mario Everett. He was 8-9 from the field including four three-pointers.
In 5A, the top 10 battle between #6 Valor Christian and #8 Mountain Vista will draw plenty of attention. And it’s a tough turn-around for the Golden Eagles as they’re coming off an exhausting 58-57 win over Denver East last night. Ben Bowen (19) and Henry Gamble (18) combined for 37 points and helped the Eagles back into the game with a 21-11 run in the third quarter. They had trailed by seven at halftime.
Valor is 1-0 after beating Air Academy 66-50 as Amondo Miller exploded for 34 points and 10 rebounds. AJ Kula just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.
Below is the entire Top 10 schedule for Friday. Final scores can be sent to Colorado Preps by text to 970.380.7737.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #2 DeBeque beat Plateau Valley 71-31
FINAL: #4 Kit Carson beat Prairie 59-32
FINAL: #6 Primero beat Walsh 64-26
FINAL: #9 Sangre De Cristo beat Custer County 43-35
#10 Haxtun at Peetz
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #1 Limon beat #7 Genoa Hugo (1A) 45-17
FINAL: Colorado Springs Christian beat #3 Fowler 73-67
FINAL: #4 Wray beat Akron 75-30
FINAL: Mancos beat #5 Sanford 62-55
FINAL: Colorado Academy beat #6 Denver Christian 70-53
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #1 Lutheran beat University 51-50
FINAL: Highland beat #5 Resurrection Christian 66-52
FINAL: #8 Centauri beat Alamosa 41-21
FINAL: D’Evelyn beat #9 Eaton 84-63
FINAL: #10 Coal Ridge beat Glenwood Springs 44-40
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Mead beat Horizon 72-67
FINAL: #2 Lewis Palmer beat Centaurus 56-52
FINAL: #3 Longmont beat Loveland 68-42
FINAL: #4 Windsor beat Northfield 87-40
FINAL: #6 Evergreen beat Thomas Jefferson 49-43
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #1 Cherry Creek beat Mullen 77-55
FINAL: #2 ThunderRidge beat Fairview 66-42
FINAL: #3 Rangeview beat Columbine 86-60
FINAL: #5 Regis beat Monarch 90-56
FINAL: #8 Mountain Vista beat #6 Valor Christian 61-47
FINAL: #9 George Washington beat Dakota Ridge 105-49
FINAL: #10 Smoky Hill beat Arapahoe 88-71
