A league championship game in the 2A Union Pacific and another round of fun games involving the 5A Continental tops the boys’ basketball schedule on Friday.
Limon and Byers are both 5-0 in the Union Pacific and they clash along I-70 tonight. The winner is the league champion with the loser falling no farther than second. The game could also serve as a preview of a district semifinal as the two teams are in the same district with Denver Christian. Each has lost to the Thunder so tonight’s winner is probably the two seed and the loser third in the bracket.
Five teams head into the weekend within one game of the Continental lead and four of them meet tonight as ThunderRidge battles Mountain Vista and Chaparral tangles with Rock Canyon. T-Ridge, Mountain Vista and Chaparral have all one league loss with Rock Canyon tied for fourth with Douglas County one game. Chaparral created the logjam by stunning ThunderRidge 62-41 on Tuesday. Should Mountain Vista and Chaparral post wins tonight, then the Golden Eagles are in first based on a 60-59 win over the Wolverines earlier this year. If ThunderRidge returns to the win column, then Chaparral is the league leader by beating Rock Canyon.
First place in the 5A Jeffco is also on the line as Ralston Vallely meets Chatfield. Both clubs are 4-0 in league play so the winner takes over sole possession of first.
Four of the top six teams in Class 4A are in action and two of them can clinch league championships with wins tonight. Montrose wraps up the Southwestern title and moves to 20-0 by beating Grand Junction. Green Mountain lands the Jeffco with a second win over D’Evelyn. The first game was very tight with the Rams securing a 53-51 win.
Lewis Palmer has already clinched the Pikes Peak championship but their game against Air Academy will be a good challenge. The Kadets are second in league play but two games off the pace. They recovered from that crazy loss to Vista Ridge last Saturday by beating Cheyenne Mountain 79-54 on Tuesday.
Top ranked Pueblo South seeks a 21-0 record as they meet Pueblo West. The Colts cannot clinch the title as they have a one game edge on Pueblo Central and a second matchup with the Wildcats is coming next week.
In Class 3A, the focus is on the Intermountain league where Centauri can avenge their only loss of the season. The Falcons are 15-1 but lost to Pagosa Springs 47-42 in their first conference matchup. Centauri starts the rematch tied with Alamosa in first place with Pagosa Springs just one game back in third. The Pirates have lost to Alamosa twice and must win to stay in the race. Alamosa and Centauri meet for a second time next week.
In Class 1A, the Haxtun-Merino may be more important to district and regional tournament seeding than the Lower Platte chase. Merino is 10th in RPI and Haxtun 11th so the winner could gain an edge in postseason bracketing. League race, Merino must quickly rebound from last night’s 30-point loss to Yuma. It cost the Rams a share of first place and now they need a win to keep pace with Wray and Wiggins in the race for second. All three of those clubs have one league loss and Wray also meets Wiggins on Saturday. Haxtun has league losses to Yuma, Holyoke and Wray and is out of the title discussion.
Below is the entire schedule for top 10 teams. We’ll update scores throughout the night and then below the rankings, update some games that impact league championship races. Final scores can be sent to Colorado Preps by text to 970.380.7737.
CLASS 1A
FINAL: #1 Granada beat Cheyenne Wells 51-39
FINAL: #2 Sierra Grande beat Sangre De Cristo 73-14
FINAL: #3 Briggsdale beat Arickaree/Woodlin 68-29
FINAL: #4 Evangelical Christian beat Kiowa 59-14
FINAL: #5 Haxtun beat #10 Merino 49-45
FINAL: #6 McClave beat Walsh 74-24
CLASS 2A
FINAL: #1 Yuma beat Caliche 86-48
FINAL: #2 Denver Christian beat Longmont Christian 70-35
FINAL: #3 Limon beat Byers 63-28
FINAL: #6 Sanford beat Ignacio 50-22
FINAL: #8 Lotus School beat Atlas Prep 87-53
FINAL: #9 Holyoke beat Akron 55-38
CLASS 3A
FINAL: Lutheran beat #5 Resurrection Christian 53-49 (OT)
FINAL: #6 Centauri beat Pagosa Springs 65-48
FINAL: Brush beat #10 Eaton 69-68
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Pueblo South beat Pueblo West 58-51
FINAL: #2 Lewis Palmer beat Air Academy 75-67
FINAL: #4 Montrose beat Grand Junction 48-33
FINAL: D’Evelyn beat #6 Green Mountain 57-50
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #1 ThunderRidge beat Mountain Vista 52-49
FINAL: #2 Fossil Ridge beat Legacy 71-39
FINAL: #5 Chaparral beat #7 Rock Canyon 54-52
FINAL: #6 Douglas County beat Highlands Ranch 56-50
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE
1A: FINAL: Creede beat Manzanola 52-29
2A: FINAL: Meeker beat Cedaredge 57-41
5A: FINAL: Ralston Valley beat Chatfield 65-59
5A: FINAL: Columbine beat Arvada West 67-64
