Oh Brother … Braketas lift Ralston Valley boys hoops over Valor

ARVADA — The defending Class 6A state champion nor the descending polar vortex could cool off the white hot Ralston Valley boys basketball team.

The Mustangs (12-0 record, 3-0 in 6A Jeffco) never trailed Valor Christian (9-4, 2-1) on Friday night at Ralston Valley High School. Ralston Valley’s 65-58 victory kept the Mustangs on pace with Rangeview (12-0) as the lone two remaining undefeated teams in 6A.

“We knew coming into this game it was going to be a battle. They are really good,” Ralston Valley junior Caiden Braketa said after the Mustangs ended a 4-game losing streak against Valor. “Against the defending state champs, we had everything to prove in this game. We played really well.”

Valor swept Ralston Valley in both home-and-away series during conference play the previous two seasons.

The Eagles and Mustangs have combined to win the past five league titles from Jeffco’s largest classification. Valor won in 2020-21 and have back-to-back 6A Jeffco League titles the past two years. Ralston Valley captured league titles during the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons.

“This might be the biggest win of the season so far,” Ralston Valley senior Tanner Braketa said after the large Ralston Valley student crowd filled the court to congratulate the Mustang players after the win. “We had a good day of practice yesterday. We executed and got a big frickin’ win tonight.”

The Braketa brothers — Tanner and Caiden — both scored 23 points each in the Mustangs’ first big step in dethroning Valor from winning a third straight 6A Jeffco League title. Caiden finished the first and second quarters in dramatic fashion with a 3-pointer to end each quarter.

Ralston Valley held a 35-29 lead at halftime.

Caiden came up big again in the fourth quarter after Valor cut Ralston Valley’s lead to 53-52 with 4:30 left in the final quarter.

“In the first four minutes I don’t think we even scored,” Caiden said of the cold snap offensively early in the fourth quarter. “I knew we had to get something going. I had a good look. When I got off the shot it felt good.”

Caiden hit another big 3-pointer a minute later to extend the lead to 59-52.

“He (Caiden) has been big for us all season,” Tanner said of his younger brother. “I think he is one of the most underrated players in the state.”

Tanner went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and Caiden was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in the final minutes to seal the victory.

“It is all team. I don’t care how much we each score,” Caiden said after the Braketa brothers combined for 46 points. “As long as we win. That is all I care about.”

Before games Friday night, Ralston Valley was No. 2 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. Valor was No. 6.

“We knew it was two really good teams,” Ralston Valley coach Chris Braketa said. “We just wanted to just come in and play the best that we can. Playing the defending state champions was a good test for us to see where we are at.”

Defensively, Tanner and junior Frank Psaute did a solid job on Valor senior Cole Scherer. The Eastern Washington University-commit came in averaging nearly 30 points per game.

“Cole is such a great player we knew we weren’t going to stop him,” Coach Braketa said after the Mustangs held Scherer to a season-low 14 points. “We wanted to make it as hard as possible on him.”

Ralston Valley is back in action at Columbine on Wednesday, Jan. 22, before hosting Lakewood on Friday, Jan. 24.

“We had three games this week,” Tanner said. “To end the week with this win as huge.”

Valor has a pair of home games next week against Lakewood (Jan. 22) and Arvada West (Jan. 24). A-West (11-2, 3-0) currently sits atop the 6A Jeffco League standings with rival Ralston Valley. The Wildcats hammered Bear Creek 85-40 on Friday night.