Ralston Valley boys hoops handle Columbine before final tests heading into state tourney

LITTLETON — On Thursday night, Ralston Valley became the first Class 6A boys basketball team to reach 20 wins this season.

The Mustangs took an 81-59 road victory over Columbine with the end of the regular season in sight. It’s the second straight season Ralston Valley has reached the 20-win mark.

“It’s awesome. These seniors have been together since they were really little,” Ralston Valley coach Chris Braketa said of the back-to-back 20-win seasons. “Seeing them grow up and the experience last year really helped. They are hungry and do things the right way. They come in every day ready to compete and ready to play.”

Last season the Mustangs went 23-3 before bowing out of the 6A state tournament in the quarterfinals to a loss to Jeffco rival Valor Christian.

“It was a tough game, but a really good learning experience for us,” Ralston Valley senior Caiden Braketa said of the quarterfinal loss to Valor. “We had a lot of juniors on that team, so we’ve been there before. I think this year we are older and an experience team. We’ll be ready to go.”

The coach’s son was ready to go from the get-go against Columbine (13-7, 5-5 in 6A Jeffco). Braketa finished with a career-high 35 points. He started the game scoring Ralston Valley’s first 7 points in the opening 2 minutes.

“The shot was going in early,” said Braketa, who had a dozen points in the opening quarter. “We got some open looks off of kick outs and then got some layups.”

A 3-point play the hard way by Braketa with 6:44 left in the third quarter pushed Ralston Valley (20-1, 10-1) to a 20-point lead. Columbine did threaten to cut the deficit under double-digits behind the efforts of seniors Cash Boykin (15 points), Scout Williams (10 points) and Brody Burkhalter (9 points), along with sophomore Dyson Boykin (12 points), but the Mustangs answered every Rebel run.

“(Columbine) is a really, really dangerous team,” Braketa said. “The Boykins can really get going. They are really scary when they are hitting tough shots. I thought we defended well and moved the ball well offensively. We got really good looks.”

Columbine knocked off A-West (19-1, 9-1) days after the Wildcats handed Ralston Valley its lone loss of the season.

“They are still a top-15 team in the state,” Coach Braketa said of Columbine. “All season they have been a tough opponent, not only when they beat A-West. Going back to Game 1 for them when they beat Denver South. We knew coming in this wasn’t going to be anything easy.”

Ralston Valley senior Zeke Andrews powered his way to his seventh 20-point game of the season. Columbine didn’t have an answer against the future quarterback at the University of Northern Colorado.

“A big focus was not to let this game be a trap game,” Andrews said. “We needed to stay focused and win every play.”

Ralston Valley has two regular-season game remaining next week before the 6A state tournament begins Feb. 24. The Mustangs host Mountain Vista (16-4) on Feb. 17 before the second showdown with cross-town rival Arvada West on Feb. 21.

A-West at Ralston Valley will decided the 6A Jeffco League champion. The Wildcats saddled the Mustangs 45-42 in their first conference meeting Jan. 31 at A-West High School.

“The goal all year has been to win league,” Andrews said. “We’ll get a chance to do that. We’re pretty excited about that.”

It will be a winner-take-all situation next Saturday. Ralston Valley will attempt to defend its conference title, while A-West is trying to win its first league title since sharing it with Columbine in the 2017-28 season.

“Playing Mountain Vista on Tuesday is going to be a lot of fun,” Coach Braketa said of the non-league game before the big rematch against A-West. “Obviously, A-West next Saturday again is going to be a lot of fun.”

Columbine has a trio of regular-season games remaining. The Rebels are at Colorado Academy tomorrow (Friday), before a road game at Lakewood on Feb. 18 before hosting rival Chatfield on Feb. 21.