Chaparral senior Gavin Carter delivered the latest blow inside a four-team race in the Class 6A/5A Continental League.
The senior scored 30 and freshman Christian Williams added 25 in a 75-59 win at 6A No. 1 ThunderRidge Tuesday, giving the No. 5 Wolverines a one-game lead over the Grizzlies and No. 3 Mountain Vista in the league standings, while keeping pace with No. 4 Rock Canyon.
With a week left in the regular season, many league races across the hoops landscape are all but finished. Some, like above, aren’t.
In this week’s look-in on 6A, 5A and 4A basketball, we go over a few of the races still very much in question.
6A/5A Continental League
The Wolverines (16-5, 7-1) have been the hottest team in the league over the last two weeks, winning six straight since their one-point loss to the Golden Eagles (16-4, 6-2) Jan. 19.
Carter, the league’s leader in points at 22.4 per game, took over in their biggest win of the season Tuesday. He shot 14 of 21 from the field as Chaparral outscored the Grizzlies (17-4, 6-2) by 18 in the second half.
The league title may come down to Feb. 15, two days prior to the end of regular season. That night, Rock Canyon (16-4, 7-1) is at Chaparral, and Mountain Vista is home against the Grizzlies.
6A Centennial League
No. 6 Eaglecrest (14-5, 5-2), Overland (12-8, 5-2) and Cherry Creek (11-9, 5-2) are tied atop the league standings, all three appearing as if they’ll be top seeds in the league’s tournament next week.
Last month, the Raptors edged the Trailblazers, who got 22 points from Siraaj Ali in the loss. Then they beat the Bruins, despite a tough shooting night from the league’s leading scorer, Ladavian King (17.2 PPG).
6A Front Range League
Thanks to a win over Legacy (14-6, 11-1) back on Jan. 9, Monarch (15-5, 11-1) can close out the league title if the Coyotes can win their final three games.
The Lightning, of course, have made things interesting on the back of their current 10-game winning streak.
And Fort Collins (12-6, 8-2), led by Jayce King’s 30.3 PPG, still has some life in the race, too.
The Coyotes — who finish on the road against Erie (Friday), Loveland (Feb. 13) and Brighton (Feb. 15) — are looking for their first league title in 20 years.
Their balanced-scoring attack includes four players all around 11 PPG in Evan Trujillo (11.9), Tyler Carlson (11.3), Van Nellessen (11.3) and Logan Laverty (10.8).
5A/4A Colorado Spring Metro League South
The best 5A game remaining in the regular season may be No. 2 Mesa Ridge (18-2, 8-0) at No. 5 Palmer (17-3, 6-1) Feb. 16.
The defending champ Grizzlies have had an edge over the Terrors in the league standings since their 60-58 win in their first meeting Jan. 19, when Tevin Riehl hit the go-ahead winner in the final seconds.
Mesa Ridge has won 14 straight, though, and surprising to many, dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the latest polls to Northfield.
Palmer bounced back from a road loss to Doherty Saturday, beating Widefield behind 22 points from Walker Asp.
5A/4A Longs Peak League
Severance (17-4, 15-1) and Riverdale Ridge (18-3, 14-2) split their two season meetings, with the Ravens winning back in December, and the Silver Knights evening things Jan. 23.
Currently separating the two is Riverdale Ridge’s loss at Skyline Jan. 30, when the Falcons held the Ravens to 38% shooting.
The Silver Knights kept their slim lead with a 78-63 win over Thompson Valley Thursday.
4A/3A Metro League
The league title may not be decided until Feb. 15 at the earliest, when 4A No. 2 Colorado Academy (17-3, 11-1) and No. 4 Kent Denver (18-2, 10-1) meet for the second time this season.
3A No. 1 Forge Christian (14-2, 6-1) is also in the mix, with a win over CA, and a loss to the Sun Devils.
Each with one loss in league, the Mustangs are currently atop the standings with the most league games played. CA beat Kent Denver 80-76 on Jan. 23 behind Jason Bratis (11.8 PPG), who had 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting.
The Fury were undefeated in league play before falling to the Sun Devils, 78-65, a week ago. Caleb Fay (21.1PPG) had 22 points in the win. Owen Hovis (16.5 PPG) had 25 in the loss.
