A few games on the boys’ basketball schedule for Saturday have already been postponed and more cancellations may be coming in the next couple of hours, but there are still many important conference games to be played. We look at those and also preview some non-league battles of note in our daily report.
Final scores can be sent to Colorado Preps by text at 970.380.7737. Those results will be posted in this story throughout the day.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: Caprock Academy beat #1 DeBeque 57-55
FINAL: #2 Belleview Christian beat Pikes Peak Christian 91-53
FINAL: #5 Primero beat Kim/Branson 66-54
FINAL: #6 Cheraw beat La Veta 43-23
FINAL: Genoa Hugo beat #10 Cheyenne Wells 44-31
FINAL: Evangelical Christian beat Flatirons Academy 62-55
Kit Carson at Fleming (Postponed)
Hi Plains at McClave (Postponed to Feb 23rd)
NOTES: The lone conference game of the group is at the top between DeBeque and Caprock Academy. It’s the second meeting in as many weeks for the WSL South division rivals with the Dragons taking round one 65-51. That result separates the two in the conference standings; DeBeque is alone in first (4-0) with Caprock (3-1) one game behind. Second half play was the difference last week as the Dragons outscored the Eagles 33-18 there. Caprock actually led 33-32 at halftime. Wes Ryan had 29 and Jaden Jordan 19 for the winners; Kale Dohrman paced Caprock with 21. DeBeque had advantages at the foul line (12-4) and three-point line (7-5) in the win. McClave (3-2) and Hi Plains (1-4) could be a good matchup. The Cardinals are one of the better storylines in 1A this year. After suffering through a winless season in 2020, they’ve won three of five this year including an important 66-62 win over Eads last night. Hi Plains played Eads on February and fell short 52-48 so comparison scores make this a competitive contest. The Patriots have been off since beating Kit Carson 48-25 last Saturday. Zayd Banks had 16, Nick Schroeder 12 and Bex Seamon 10. Cheraw moved to 2-0 in the High Plains race by edging Cheyenne Wells 48-42 last night. It kept them unbeaten on the season overall (6-0). For Cheyenne Wells, it was their first loss (4-1). Evangelical Christian (5-1) and Flatirons Academy (4-0) is a sneaky good game with playoff implications involved. ECA is favored to land the Black Forest and get a state playoff berth there but Flatirons may have to settle for a wildcard nod as they have to battle through #2 Belleview Christian and #3 Mile High Academy in the 5280. ECA picked up 18 points from RJ Wagner and 15 from Jared Guest in last night’s win over Pikes Peak Christian (71-62). Flatirons edged Dayspring Christian (50-48) two nights ago as Russell Kingery (14) and Cody Koehn (12) combined for 26 points.
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #8 Holly beat #4 Fowler 56-44 (Fowler Tournament)
FINAL: #5 Denver Christian beat Heritage Christian 67-50
FINAL: Peyton beat #7 Sanford 33-28 (Fowler Tournament)
FINAL: #9 Sedgwick County beat Dayspring Christian 59-42
#10 Meeker at Soroco
Wiggins at Holyoke (Postponed to Monday)
Dove Creek at Dolores
NOTES: Meeker finally gets their league schedule underway and the scheduled game at Soroco could eventually determine the WSL Northern division champion. West Grand has opened play at 2-0 and might be a factor at years end but the Cowboys and Rams have collected wins in eight of their nine games combined. The lone loss came this week when Meeker fell short to 3A Aspen. Spud White (18.0) leads Meeker in scoring but three others, Liam Denning, Braydon Garcia and Ethan Drake, all average at least 10 points per game. Soroco is 5-0 including a league win over North Park (59-40). They also have a non-conference win at West Grand (45-37). Liam Yaconiello, with 21.5 points and 10 rebounds per game, is among the state leaders in both categories. He gets help on both ends from Tyler Koler Wixom with 11 points and six rebounds. Both Dove Creek and Dolores sit among the top four teams in the San Juan. The Bulldogs are 3-0 and tied with favorites Mancos and Ignacio in first with Dolores (2-1) tied with Ridgway in fourth a game back. Dove Creek is 3-0 in-state with both losses to Monticello UT. Against Nucla last night, Kade Hankins went for 33 points pushing his average to 22. It was not a season high as he totaled 37 against Ouray. Dolores lost to Ignacio on Tuesday (50-39) but recovered to take out Telluride (59-41) two nights later. Kevin Purkat (15.3) and Hayden Tallmadge (12.7) are scoring leaders. Denver Christian sees their first action in nine days and today’s return to the court is an important one. The Thunder hope to challenge Highland for the Mile High crown and need a win today to stay in a first place tie. Heritage Christian is one game off the pace in third and enters with a three-game winning streak. They were solid in beating Clear Creek on the road Thursday behind a combined 37 points from Montgomery Case (16), Sam Lundy (11) and Caleb Stockton (10). Fatigue could become an issue for Sedgwick County as this is their third game in as many days. They fell at Wray on Thursday before beating Burlington last night. Dayspring is 1-4 overall. Fowler and Sanford are coming off different results at the Fowler tournament Friday night. The host Grizzlies were knocked off by Peyton with Sanford scoring an impressive win on Holly.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #2 St Mary’s beat Colorado Springs Christian 63-60
FINAL: #3 Manitou Springs beat Banning Lewis 69-51
FINAL: #4 Faith Christian beat Platte Valley 64-42
FINAL: #5 Centauri beat Pagosa Springs 44-32
FINAL: #7 Sterling beat Ogallala NE 71-54
FINAL: #10 Eaton beat Peak to Peak 75-27
FINAL: Manual beat Machebeuf 75-60
FINAL: Coal Ridge beat Aspen 51-47
FINAL: Pinnacle beat Middle Park 71-57
NOTES: It’s not in the Top 10 but the most important game on tap could feature Cola Ridge and Aspen. With combined records of 8-1, they’re favored to finish 1-2 in the Western Slope so today’s contest will go a long way in deciding the order. Coal Ridge opened conference play with a 68-37 win at Grand Valley on Thursday as Hank DiMarco scored 18 points on 8-10 shooting. Andrew Herrera drilled three treys on his way to 12 points and Irvin Ortega pulled down eight rebounds. Aspen handed 2A Meeker their first loo on Thursday in a 56-44 win. Lucas Lee, Taylor Akin and Porter Lee all scored 11 points with Lee reaching double-double status with 10 rebounds. Another good pairing features St Mary’s against Colorado Springs Christian. Tri Peaks wise, the Pirates are 4-0 and tied with Buena Vista and Manitou Springs in first. The Lions are 3-1 and share the runner-up spot with Salida. Salida was scheduled to face Lamar today but that game has been postponed. CSCS may struggle to keep up with St Mary’s point for point. The Lions average nearly 62 points a game and have reached at least 70 in three games. The Pirates have been over 100 in three games and 90 in two others. Against Lamar they totaled 54 first-half points and then added 30 in the third quarter. Luke Stockelman scored 28 and Sam Howery 18. Manitou Springs meets a Banning Lewis team that pushed Buena Vista to a three-point game this week. Buena Vista is not on our list of games but the Demons are in action against winless Vanguard. Pinnacle (5-0) has a piece of the Frontier lead with Arrupe Jesuit and DSST-Montview but Middle Park (2-1) is also in the chase. Pinnacle (7-0) is unbeaten overall and coming off league wins against Bruce Randolph and Sheridan this week. Both were by at least 24 points. Xavier Moralez (12.4) and Robert McClinton (12.1) are virtual co-scoring leaders for the Wolves. Faith Christian, Sterling and Eaton all take a break from league play today but could get challenged by quality opponents.
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #2 Windsor beat Ralston Valley 69-55
FINAL: #10 Montrose beat Grand Junction Central 50-23
FINAL: Summit beat Eagle Valley 71-59
NOTES: Very little time to rest for Windsor. The Wizards are coming off a tight 60-56 Northern conference win over Centaurus on Friday and less than 24 hours later, line up against a very good Ralston Valley club. The Mustangs (5-3) also played last night and ended a short two-game slide by beating Bear Creek 69-57. Zach Akin scored 20 and Blake Butvidas 16 in the win. Windsor needed that close battle last night as they had outscored their first four opponents 337-158. Out west, Montrose and Grand Junction Central collide for the very early lead in the SWL. Both won league openers earlier this week. Montrose (6-0) as they have three more wins than Central (3-2). Summit must beat Eagle Valley to remain one game back of Steamboat Springs in the Western Slope. The Tigers are coming off a tough 48-42 loss at Palisade last night which left both teams at 3-1 and sharing second. Summit rematches with Palisade next Saturday and also faces Steamboat on the road Tuesday so they must avoid looking past the Devils today.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #2 Rangeview beat Hinkley 77-56
FINAL: Denver East beat #5 George Washington 97-94 (2 OT)
FINAL: Rampart beat #10 Doherty 80-58
NOTES: George Washington and Denver East are playing much earlier this year as their annual clash normally takes place on the final weekend. Regardless of timing, the game still has an impact on the DPL chase as East is already 5-0 in league play with GW (2-0) also having a piece of first place. The winner will go into next week with a share of first place with Lincoln (1-0). Q Davis (15.6), Boston Stanton (14.2) and Tom Connelly (13.8) pace a balanced Angels attack; Jarnell Johnson (24.0) tops the Patriots attack. Should see some points between longtime rivals Doherty and Rampart. The Spartans average 72 points a game in three league wins; Rampart 90. Both are tied with Liberty atop the Pikes Peak so it’s also very important to the title discussion. Tyler Edwards (23.4), Cole Bowen (16.8) and Dante Wydra (13.6) pace the Rams high powered attack which has connected on 60 treys in five games overall. Doherty has 57 threes in six games led by Brody Gish with 16. He’s second (13.3) in scoring to Schafer Reichert (19.5). Rangeview has been the dominant team in the East Metro for several years and that trend does not appear to be slowing down. The Raiders topped their first two league opponents by a combined 93 points this year and could add another lopsided win against a Hinkley club that has just one win. That victory did come in conference as the T-Birds beat Northglenn (71-40) last Saturday. Taevon Long scored 22 in that win. Hinkley also pushed Prairie View in a 71-64 loss in their last game as Long netted 25. He’s averaging almost 19 per game overall.
