Most of the activity in the boys’ basketball schedule for Friday night can be found in Classes 1A, 2A and 5A. Class 3A has just one top 10 team in action and ranked teams in Class 4A have the night off. Still plenty to be decided so we will through the scenarios.
Starting in Class 1A where the final contest of three major games inside the High Plains conference is set for tonight. #1 Granada heads to #6 McClave with the outcome determining the league champion and top three seeds for the district tournament. Wiley is the third team in the mix for both races and they stayed alive by upsetting McClave on Thursday night. Because of that loss, Granada is the league champion with a win and that result puts Wiley #2 and McClave #3. If McClave rebounds with a win, then the three teams will share the league title and RPI will be used to set seeds for the districts. Going into the contest, Granada is #1 in the standings with Wiley #9 and McClave #11.
Staying in the Southeast as the Ark Valley title and top district seed goes to the winner between Kim/Branson and Springfield. Briggsdale also needs a win to officially clinch the North Central title.
In Class 2A, Meeker made the route to the league championship a bit harder as they lost to Plateau Valley on Thursday. That dropped the Cowboys back into a first-place tie with Vail Mountain and Caprock Academy. But since Meeker has wins over both, they still control the race and get the trophy by beating Hayden tonight. Another slip up gives the title to Caprock Academy if they beat Rangely.
Wray and Merino is an attractive battle inside the Lower Platte. Wray has clinched second behind Yuma but the Rams need a win to stay in fourth place.
Sanford is the Southern Peaks champion with a win at Center tonight. An upset loss still leaves them in OK shape as a win over Del Norte on Saturday also earns them a championship.
In Class 5A, Chaparral and ThunderRidge sit atop the Continental standings but the Wolverines won the head-to-head matchup. So they’re the league champions by beating Ponderosa. Douglas County and Mountain Vista (6-2) share third place and since the league matchup was postponed, they could end up tied as well but both need a win today to do so. The Huskies host Legend while the Golden Eagles tangle with #7 Rock Canyon.
Over in the Jeffco, Dakota Ridge moves into second by beating Columbine. That win would leave the Eagles tied with Chatfield in second but Dakota Ridge has the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head win over the Chargers.
Manual is the lone top 10 team in 3A on the court and they have momentum from last night’s wild win over Kent Denver (77-70). They close the year against DSST-Byers.
But the main focus in 3A is the Patriot district quarterfinals. Resurrection Christian and Sterling are the top two seeds and they see their first playoff action of the season. The Cougars host Strasburg and Sterling meets Eaton. Strasburg and Eaton both scored wins on Thursday to advance. The remaining two matchups find University at Brush in the 4-5 game with Highland going to Platte Valley.
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: #6 McClave beat #1 Granada 43-40
FINAL: #2 Sierra Grande beat Manzanola 64-22
FINAL: #3 Briggsdale beat Prairie 62-59
FINAL: #5 Haxtun beat Lone Star 66-45
FINAL: #8 Caprock Academy beat Rangely 72-43
CLASS 2A
#4 Mancos vs Dolores
FINAL: #5 Sanford beat Center 62-39
FINAL: #6 Wray beat Merino 63-50
#9 Thomas MacLaren at Kiowa
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #10 Manual beat DSST-Byers 70-31
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #2 ThunderRidge beat Castle View 93-67
FINAL: #3 Chaparral beat Ponderosa 63-59
FINAL: #5 Eaglecrest beat Cherry Creek 80-67
FINAL: #6 Douglas County beat Legend 72-44
FINAL: #9 Mountain Vista beat #7 Rock Canyon 60-41
FINAL: #10 Regis beat Heritage 67-57
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE
1A: FINAL: Kim/Branson beat Springfield 53-45
2A: FINAL: Meeker beat Hayden 60-24 (West Slope)
5A: FINAL: Dakota Ridge beat Columbine 68-62 (Jeffco)
DISTRICT TOURNAMENTS
FINAL: Sterling beat Eaton 65-42 (3A Patriot Quarterfinal)
FINAL: University beat Brush 52-32 (3A Patriot Quarterfinal)
Highland at Platte Valley (3A Patriot Quarterfinal)
FINAL: Resurrection Christian beat Strasburg 56-36 (3A Patriot Quarterfinal)
