Monday night marks the start of the final week of regular season basketball and teams continue to either look for a conference championship or to better their seed for next weeks’ playoff action. Colorado Preps recaps the most important games of the night in both boys and girls’ basketball.
GIRLS
- Flatirons Academy seems poised for another serious run at the 1A state championship. The defending state champs took out Fleming on Saturday and tonight they downed 3A Resurrection Christian 59-36. It’s a high quality win as the Cougars spent a few weeks in the 3A Top 10 and could be a top 16 seed in the state tournament.
- Green Mountain and D’Evelyn both won on Monday so they continue sharing the 4A Jeffco lead. The Rams downed Golden 52-27 and the Jaguars dumped Standley Lake 67-28. Littleton remains in great shape for third thanks to a 60-12 win over Wheat Ridge.
- Valor Christian won a top 10 showdown with Chaparral 59-34 and improved their record to 18-3 on the season.
- Monarch is a second team to win a top 10 matchup as they take out Columbine 54-40. This is a non-conference win but the Coyotes can claim the Front Range crown by winning out this week.
- Classical Academy clinched the 4A CS Metro North championship by beating Elizabeth 54-18. The Titans are now 8-0 in conference play and 18-2 overall.
- Rangeview kept a share of the East Metro lead and eliminated Brighton from the title discussion with a 64-26 win over the Bulldogs. The Raiders remain tied with Vista Peak and will play them on Saturday to determine the league championship. Rangeview won a non-league game with them 92-57 in late January.
- Bennett stayed second in the 3A Frontier by beating DSST-Montview 47-28. The Tigers lost a chance at the title with last week’s loss to Academy.
BOYS
- Mead moved into the semifinals of the crossover tournament between the Northern and Longs Peak conference. They downed Centaurus 75-54 on Monday night. The Mavericks now have a rematch with Longmont after losing to the Trojans in the regular season. Windsor and Frederick clash in the second semifinal.
- Montrose moved to 21-0 on the season by beating Steamboat Springs 58-32. The game was a rematch of a state quarterfinal from a year ago. Montrose also won that contest on their way to the state championship game.
- Green Mountain stays tied with D”Evelyn atop the Jeffco. Both clubs are now 11-2 after the Rams downed Standley Lake 69-40 this evening.
- Manitou Springs took a tough loss to Florence and that could cost the Mustangs a top four finish in the 3A Tri Peaks. They began the night tied with Woodland Park in the fourth spot.
- Pinnacle opened the night sharing second place in the 3A Frontier with Academy and DSST-Montview but the Timberwolves fell off the pace with a narrow 47-45 loss to Arrupe Jesuit. The result leaves Academy as the second place team as they have the head-to-head win over DSST-Montview. The Wildcats have also finished their regular season slate.
- Fowler remains in contention for the 2A Santa Fe crown by beating Swallows Charter 45-42. The win locked down a top two league finish and if Holly is upset by Las Animas on Tuesday, the Grizzlies are the league champs.
- Colorado Springs Christian scored an important 61-55 win at Buena Vista on Monday and that keeps them in contention for second place in the 3A Tri Peaks. The Lions trail Salida by one game in the race for second but has a head-to-head win over the Spartans. Salida also plays Buena Vista later this week to close their season. A loss by Salida moves CSCS back into the second spot.