A long list of games can be found on the Saturday boys’ basketball schedule and many matchups bring great interest. We have a key top 10 clash in the 2A Lower Platte and in 3A, top ranked Lutheran has a huge challenge with #4 Regis from 5A. In Class 4A, there are five unbeaten teams in the Northern conference and all are in action today including a head-to-head battle between rivals Longmont and Silver Creek.
Below is a preview of the Saturday schedule and we’ll post results throughout the day. Final scores can be sent to Colorado Preps by text at 970.380.7737 or by email to [email protected]
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #1 DeBeque beat Hotchkiss 51-29
#2 Mile High Academy vs Front Range Baptist
#3 Belleview Christian at Vail Christian
FINAL: Hi Plains beat #4 Kit Carson 48-25
FINAL: Holyoke beat #6 Merino 47-41
FINAL: #7 Primero beat Springfield 78-42
FINAL: #8 Haxtun beat Prairie 67-56
FINAL: #9 Sangre De Cristo beat Centennial 59-23
FINAL: #10 Cheraw beat Walsh 49-23
NOTES: Mile High Academy may be the last team in Colorado to open the basketball season as the Mustangs finally get on the court today. They opened the season ranked number one but inactivity and the play of DeBeque has dropped them down one spot. They’re heavily favored against Front Range Baptist today and are the pick to land the rugged 5280 conference championship. Belleview Christian may have a say in that race and they get in a nice trip to 2A Vail Christian today. BC has scored 178 points in their last two games and is getting great play from Assane Diop. He’s averaging 16 points, 19 rebounds, seven blocks and eight assists per game including a quadruple double against Loveland Classical. Kit Carson and Hi Plains play on a regular basis and this year both teams look to end losing streaks. The Wildcats have lost their last two while the Patriots have yet to taste victory (0-4). Their schedule has been difficult with narrow losses to Eads (52-48), Akron (47-39) and Weskan KS (43-39). Cheraw looks to build on momentum from last night’s win over Kit Carson (48-31). They’ll be favored at home today. Sangre De Cristo (2-0) was pushed to overtime on Friday before beating Cotopaxi. The T-Birds look for a second straight conference win at home today. Haxtun looks to finish off a rugged week with a home win over Prairie. The Fightin’ Bulldogs have played two ranked opponents this week; beating Briggsdale on Tuesday before falling to 2A power Wray last night.
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #1 Limon beat Burlington 64-13
FINAL: #2 Wray beat Idalia 86-33
FINAL: #3 Fowler beat Swink 62-22
FINAL: #4 Yuma beat #7 Sedgwick County 61-59
FINAL: #5 Mancos beat Ouray 74-47
FINAL: #6 Sanford beat Monte Vista 50-45
FINAL: #9 Holly beat Las Animas 71-34
FINAL: Bayfield beat #10 Ignacio 50-37
FINAL: Crested Butte beat Center 38-26
FINAL: Caprock Academy beat Cedaredge 42-38
FINAL: Clear Creek beat Dayspring Christian 60-58
NOTES: The game that jumps out quickly is the Lower Platte battle between Yuma and Sedgwick County. Entering the week, the Cougars had momentum and the Indians were struggling at 0-3 but directions changed on Friday. Yuma clubbed Holyoke 91-48 while Sedgwick County came up short against highly ranked Merino from 1A (58-53). Now the two teams must quickly turn around and play another very important league contest. And because of last night’s loss, the outcome may be more important to Sedgwick County since another setback would leave them two games out of first place. The Southern Peaks chase sees two interesting pairings today as Sanford meets Monte Vista and Crested Butte goes over to Center. The four teams could very well end up with the top four spots in the league chase and results today will help determine where each lands. With all that tradition, Sanford remains the conference favorite but Monte Vista will be a tough out today. They’re a good addition to the conference; dropping in from the 3A IML this year. So far this year, they’ve split two games against former league rivals; beating Pagosa Springs 43-41 and losing to Alamosa 46-36. Seniors Andres Maestas (12.5) and Tyrese Otero (11.5) combine for 24 points a game and each average three assists. Crested Butte looks to rebound from a frustrating 59-38 loss to Gunnison on Tuesday while Center moved to 2-1 by beating Sierra Grande 48-39 on Thursday. Diego Velez (13), Victor Almeida (11) and Habran DeLaCruz (10) all reached double figures. Two other league positioning games are found outside the top 10 as well. Caprock Academy and Cedaredge have both lost to DeBeque this week but the winner is in good shape to finish second behind the Dragons in the Western Slope South. Clear Creek and Dayspring Christian are the favorites to finish third and fourth behind Highland Denver Christian in the Mile High.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #4 Regis (5A) beat #1 Lutheran 83-46
FINAL: #5 Centauri beat Rye 72-36
FINAL: #8 Sterling beat Manual 54-52
FINAL: Aspen beat Gunnison 42-38
NOTES: It’s an unusual meeting today as the top ranked team from Class 3A makes a huge step up to challenge a highly ranked 5A program but that’s the case when Lutheran and Regis tangle. The Raiders have been dominant thus far including two lopsided Continental wins over Ponderosa (81-29) and Castle View (93-46). Five Raiders score at least 13 points a game with Blakely Stoughton (20.7) leading the way. Kyle Sandler (17.7) is next and is also the leading rebounder (8.7). Lutheran has survived their last two outings; beating University 51-50 and Faith Christian 59-50 in overtime but they enter the game with plenty of confidence following the 3-0 start. And with 6-11 Baye Fall, 6-8 Mamadou Sow and 6-7 Niklas Skirmants, the Lions have the size to compete. Sterling-Manual is always an exciting matchup between clubs that at the end of the season are always in the state championship mix. Manual fell to Far Northeast (72-65) in their opener but has easily stuffed Jefferson Academy (65-39) and Stargate (81-44) since. Jordan Reed (27.5) and Abel Maes (20.0) are both explosive on the offense end. Sterling drained 17 three-pointers and scored at least 15 points in each quarter in beating University two nights ago. Centauri is favored at Rye and should be 4-0 by days end. Aspen-Gunnison is a rematch of the Western Slope district final last year. The Cowboys won that contest easily (79-49) and return Braden Wood (16) and Aidan Hulbert (12) who combined for 28 points in the win.
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Mead beat Greeley Central 57-48
FINAL: #2 Lewis Palmer beat #10 Pueblo East 67-62
FINAL: #3 Longmont beat Silver Creek 52-34
FINAL: #5 Windsor beat Greeley West 71-41
FINAL: #6 Erie beat Skyline 61-51
FINAL: #7 Pueblo Central beat Harrison 73-57
FINAL: #9 Montrose beat Roaring Fork 60-41
NOTES: Very good bounce back game for both Lewis Palmer and Pueblo East as each is coming off a narrow loss on Friday night. The Rangers were outscored by 5A Doherty 83-78 and the Eagles came up short to league rival Pueblo Central 52-50. A quick return matchup against a quality opponent helps both teams quickly forget about a tough loss and a win gives them back momentum entering week three. The outcome will also impact future playoff brackets. All five unbeaten teams from the Northern conference are in action today and at least one will drop their first game when Longmont-Silver Creek face off. It’s a very good rivalry and has the makings of a good game. Longmont’s best win came against Evergreen (33-32) in the opener and has been followed by double-digit wins over Loveland and Niwot. Keegan Patterson (17.0) and Eddie Kurjak (15.3) top the offense. Silver Creek is coming off a quality 63-56 win over Mountain View on Wednesday where Andrew Scott dropped in 22, Karson Hills 12 and Dylan Johnson 11. Tanner Call also added nine boards. Mead, Windsor and Erie are the three other unbeaten clubs in the Northern conference and all are favored to win this afternoon. The Mavericks are back on the court after their game with Fruita Monument on Friday was postponed. Mead battled past Thompson Valley 58-51 on Tuesday as Elijah Knudsen (5) and Nick Basson (4) combined for nine three-pointers. Knudsen tallied 26 points overall and Basson 12. Windsor has outscored their first two opponents by 90 points with Jaden Kennis scoring 25 points in each win. Erie beat Fort Morgan 67-52 on Tuesday for their second win. Kevin Loy had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kayan Hargrave topped the scoresheet with 16. Top
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #3 Rangeview beat Brighton 75-50
FINAL: #5 Mountain Vista beat Ponderosa 77-49
NOTES: Both top five clubs should get by outmanned opponents with relative ease today. Rangeview could use an easy game as they’ve had to work past Rock Canyon (46-44) and Fairview (61-57) already this week. Brighton (0-4) has been outscored by an average of 25 points per game. Mountain Vista opened Continental league play with a 69-51 over Douglas County on Tuesday. Ponderosa is winless in two conference games but did play well in an overtime loss at Legend (50-43) Thursday night.
