Games involving top 10 teams and other intriguing matchups for boys’ basketball on Wednesday are limited to the largest three classes. There’s a huge battle between Lutheran-Faith Christian in the Class 3A Metro and six ranked clubs from Class 4A get on the court.
We preview the matchups below and made this article free so readers can see the details we provide on all the important matchups each day of the season. You can subscribe by clicking on the Log In button in the top menu.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Rix.
CLASS 3A
FINAL: #1 Lutheran beat #3 Faith Christian 59-50
FINAL: #10 Colorado Academy beat Prospect Ridge 79-47
NOTES: Would rather see Lutheran and Faith Christian line up later in the season because the winner likely ends up the championship and such an early game make take away the excitement of the Metro league chase. The outcome could also factor greatly into the top four seeds of the 3A state tournament bracket. Despite not having talented sophomore Baye Fall in the lineup, Lutheran chalked up two wins in week one; beating Holy Family 73-59 and then edging University 51-50. Sam Hoops buried four treys against University and finished with a game high 16 points. Niklas Skirmants added 11 and Mamadou Sow collected 14 rebounds. Fall is expected back in the lineup for tonight’s important clash. Faith Christian had an up and down first week. They were very impressive in blowing past University 80-43 but then allowed 103 ponits in a wild loss to St Mary’s. Caleb Clark had a career best 32 points and a game high eight rebounds in the loss. Sophomores Geo Velarde (17) and Keegan Paige (10) also reached double figures. Three players though for St Mary’s netted at least 20 and the Pirates tallied a whopping 37 points in the third period. Colorado Academy (2-0) will watch the results from Lutheran-Faith Christian with great interest as the Mustangs seek a top four league finish. They’re favored in their league opener with Prospect Ridge. Ahbil Woldeyohannes (20.0) and Elliott Cravitz (15.5) combined for 71 points in first week wins over DSST-Green Valley and 2A Denver Christian. Prospect Ridge beat Fort Lupton in the opener (49-47) but is coming off a loss to Strasburg (74-50).
CLASS 4A
FINAL: #1 Mead beat Thompson Valley 58-51
FINAL: #2 Lewis Palmer beat Discovery Canyon 65-55
FINAL: #3 Longmont beat Niwot 66-28
FINAL: Green Mountain beat #4 Golden 63-50
FINAL: #5 Windsor beat Frederick 93-53
FINAL: Fountain Fort Carson beat #7 Pueblo Central 63-58
FINAL: Silver Creek beat Mountain View 63-58
NOTES: Six ranked teams step on the court Wednesday but only two face unbeaten opponents as Frederick (2-0) challenges Windsor (1-0) and Fountain Fort Carson (2-0) looks to knock off Pueblo Central (3-0). Should get some points in the Windsor-Frederick matchup. The Wizards totaled 89 in an easy opening win over Northfield while the Warriors are coming off 102 points in a win at Northridge including 41 points in the second quarter. Six players scored at least 9 points in the win with JJ Heil (23) and Izayah Elize (19) topping the list. The defense also limited Northridge to just 27 percent shooting from the field. Windsor shot a red-hot 61 percent against Northfield and knocked in nine three-pointers. Jaden Kennis had four and led the Wizards with 25 points overall. David Hageman had two treys and finished with 23 points. Kobe Greene netted three shots from the arc as part of his 11-point total. Pueblo Central is playing for a second straight night. The Wildcats opened the South Central schedule on Tuesday by beating Pueblo County 62-43. They also have a big matchup with Pueblo East on Friday so this could be considered a dreaded sandwich game. Kadyn Betts dropped in 27 points in last night’s win. Fountain Fort Carson’s second win came last Friday against Sierra (54-36). Kaleb Mitchell provided 15 points and nine rebounds. He recorded a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds in their first win over Sand Creek. Golden’s (3-0) matchup with Green Mountain (2-1) continues that great rivalry. Underclassmen have paced the Demons thus far with Alan Acevedo (18.3), Richie Pruett (15.0) and Aliou Diallo (12.3) all scoring in double figures. Acevedo also tops the Demons in assists (5.0), rebounds (5.7) and steals (5.0). Green Mountain rolled Conifer 93-35 in their league opener two nights ago. They scored 31 first quarter points to blow it open and finished with six players scoring at least 10 points. Austin Peterson had 21 points; all coming on his seven three-pointers. Silver Creek (2-0) is up to Class 5A this year but will battle the likes of Mead, Longmont and Windsor for the Northern championship. Mountain View is also unbeaten (2-0) so the non-league pairing is a good one. Silver Creek’s offense is led by the trio of Andrew Scott (15.0), Karson Hills (14.0) and Tanner Call (10.0). Call also tops the Raptors with nearly 12 rebounds a game. Mountain View will counter with Alex Hurr (23.0) and Christian Soliz (13.5). They’ve beaten Berthoud and Thompson Valley.
CLASS 5A
FINAL: #3 Rangeview beat Fairview 61-57
FINAL: Ralston Valley beat #9 Valor Christian 45-38
FINAL: Fossil Ridge beat Fort Collins 70-54
NOTES: Rangeview (3-0) tallied 82 and 86 points in week one wins but was held to just 46 in a two-point win over Rock Canyon on Monday. 31 of those points came in the second half as the Raiders rallied from a 22-15 hole at intermission. The Raiders were just 3-14 from the arc but Cade Palmer hit one as part of his team-high 13-point effort. Fairview is seeing their first court time since a tough 66-42 loss to #2 ThunderRidge last Friday. They also scored 31 second half points but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 32-11 halftime margin. Grant Page, Greysen Carter and Brody Pinto all scored eight points in the loss. The Jeffco race could be interesting as entering the second round of league play only Chatfield (3-0) is unbeaten overall. Valor Christian and Ralston Valley are two teams that should contend as they shared the title at 7-1 last season. Tonight’s game is the league opener for the Eagles while Ralston looks to build on the 67-56 win over Lakewood last week. Zach Akin (15), Zach Friedman (12) and Beau Wilkin (11) all reached double-digits in the win. Valor lost to Mountain Vista (61-47) last Friday. Amondo Miller scored 34 in the opening win over Air Academy but was held to 13 vs Mountain Vista. Early city rivalry games continue in Fort Collins tonight as the Lambkins (1-1) challenge Fossil Ridge (2-0). Both have already played their other two league rivals in Poudre and Rocky Mountain. Fossil Ridge won both with the Lambkins beating Rocky Mountain but falling to Poudre.
