ARVADA — Valor Christian boys basketball stayed undefeated in Class 6A Jeffco League play Monday night.
The Eagles — No. 3 in the latest Colorado Preps coaches and media rankings — took a hard-fought 63-55 road victory against Arvada West. Valor (13-2, 4-0 in league) is a game ahead of No. 10 Ralston Valley (11-4, 3-1).
The Mustangs grabbed a 44-point win over Lakewood on Monday night to stay a game behind the league-leading Eagles.
“Going on the road is hard no matter where or who you play. Especially in conference play,” Valor coach Jeff Platt said. “Arvada West has had a good program and we knew they weren’t going to just lay down. We knew they weren’t going to quit. They are going to come at us no matter what.”
Valor grabbed a double-digit lead in the first quarter with the long-distance shooting of senior Eli Kim and junior Cole Scherer. Both knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Photo by Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Public Schools
Scherer kept it going in the second quarter with a 10-point effort to give himself a game-high 18 points at halftime. The Eagles’ leading scorer would finished with a game-high 24 points.
“We are a well-around team with a lot of scorers,” Scherer said.
Valor didn’t have to rely on Scherer offensively in the fourth quarter. Junior Brady Wynja poured in 6 of his 10 points in the final quarter to hold off A-West (11-5, 3-2).
“In order to be at our best we need multiple guys step up,” Platt said. “Sometimes it is that third scorer, that third rebounder or just that guy who can come in and spells you some minutes. I like that our team is growing and more guys are stepping up so not all the weight is on (Scherer’s) shoulders.”
Kim finished with 14 points to help Valor win its fourth straight after a tough 70-68 loss to No. 2 Smoky Hill back on Jan. 8.
A-West did mount a nice second-half comeback attempt with a 20-point third quarter. Junior Keegen Balistreri scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the third which included a 10-0 run by the Wildcats.
A steal and layup at the buzzer by sophomore Noah Meurer cut Valor’s lead to 50-44 going into the fourth quarter. However, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to start the final quarter to push the lead back up to double-digits and A-West didn’t score until midway through the final quarter.
Valor threw a zone defense for the first time all tonight early in the fourth quarter to slow the pace down a little. The strategy worked.
“Just wanted to break (A-West’s) rhythm a little bit,” Platt said of Valor going to a zone defense. “We looked a little tired and (A-West) had gained some confidence. We wanted to just change it up for a possession or two.”
A-West junior Jordan Stremel hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Valor stayed perfect in league play.
“I like our group and I like the direction we are moving,” Platt said. “My hope is we continue to get better and our best basketball of the season is still ahead of us, not behind us.”
Valor plays the remainder of the week at home in Highlands Ranch. The Eagles host Lakewood on Wednesday and Bear Creek on Friday.
A-West hosts Columbine on Wednesday before hitting the road to face Lakewood on Friday night.
