With just three days left, the boys’ basketball regular season is quickly winding down but there are several important games on the Thursday schedule.  Nine games made our list as we continue our final week daily series on the top games across the state.
 
1A:  South Baca at Springfield
Walsh has clinched the Ark Valley championship but the winner of this game nails down third place and avoids the top seeded Eagles until the finals of the district tournament.  Kim/Branson is the number two teams and the Mustangs have wins over both South Baca and Springfield.  Springfield ended a two-game slide by downing Wiley 53-42 last week as Alex Suarez scored 16 and Beau Dukes 14.  South Baca has won four of their last six but is coming off a 60-47 loss to Granada over the weekend.  Shadow Varnado poured in 31 for the Patriots.
2A:  Paonia at Hotchkiss
Class 1A DeBeque has wrapped up the overall league title but there are several possibilities for the spots immediate behind them.  Vail Christian (9-2) is alone in second place but has a tough finishing game with fourth place Soroco (7-4).  In between the Saints and Rams are Paonia and Plateau Valley; both 8-3.  Paonia clinches at least a top four finish with a win and then would be no worse than the third seed in the 2A District 5 tournament.  They can also climb to second with a win if Vail Christian falls to Soroco.  Paonia also gets the top seed with a win, a Vail Christian loss and a Caprock Academy upset of Plateau Valley tomorrow.
2A:  Simla at Colorado Springs School
Simla enters the game tied with Peyton and Dolores Huerta atop the Black Forest and needs a win to keep pace and stay in contention for the top overall playoff seed.  This is the last league game for Simla while Peyton concludes at Miami Yoder and Dolores Huerta at Calhan; both on Friday.  Wins all by three likely move the district seeding to the second tiebreaker which is RPI.  In that scenario, Dolores Huerta (22nd) would the third seed but spots 1-2 remain up for grabs as Simla and Peyton are basically tied for 12th.  Simla will get a boost by playing a Colorado Springs School that is 36th in RPI compared to Peyton meeting Miami Yoder (66th).
3A:  Gunnison at Delta
3A:  Grand Valley at Roaring Fork
We group these games together because both are inside the Western Slope and both will impact the league championship and top four seeds in next week’s district tournament.  Game one between Gunnison and Delta is for the title as the winner lands the championship.  If Gunnison wins; then Delta falls to #2 and the winner between Grand Valley — Roaring Fork is third.  In that scenario, a Roaring Fork loss could drop them to fifth because of Tuesday’s loss to Coal Ridge.  If Delta and Roaring Fork both win; then Delta is #1 with Roaring Fork #2 and Gunnison #3.  Grand Valley holds onto fourth due to an earlier win over Coal Ridge.
3A:  Pagosa Springs at Bayfield
Centauri has clinched IML title and will be the top seed for the district tournament.  Bayfield secures second place by beating Pagosa Springs but a loss drops the Wolverines into a tie with Montezuma Cortez and Alamosa for second place.  Both the Panthers and Moose have wrapped up their conference schedule.  Getting second is very important as that team along with Centauri, earn byes into the district semifinals.  Bayfield beat Pagosa Springs 47-28 in the first meeting as they outscored the Pirates 25-8 over the second half.  Turner Kennedy paced the offense with 14 points while Ethan Morris added nine and Hayden Farmer and Keyon Prior eight apiece.  Mason Snarr topped Pagosa Springs with 17.
4A:  Golden at Wheat Ridge
Despite the loss to Evergreen on Tuesday, Wheat Ridge stills Golden by two games in the Jeffco and can clinch the league crown with a win.  Even if they come up short against the Demons tonight, the Farmers are still league champions with a win over Standley Lake on Saturday.  Golden also has a game with Green Mountain on Saturday and only gets to the top spot with two wins and pair of losses by the first-place Farmers.  Wheat Ridge scored a 59-48 win in the first matchup with Golden.  Blair McVicker tossed in 16 points and Julian Classen 14.  Dominic Bronk (11) and Alex Morales (10) also reached double figures.  Kevin Mulligan with 14 paced Golden.
4A:  Holy Family at Mead
The Tri Valley chase has basically been a battle between Mead and Holy Family all season and now the two clubs meet for a second time to determine the top two spots.  Mead (15-0) won the first meeting and a season sweep gives them an unbeaten run to the championship.  Holy Family (13-1) creates a tie for the championship with a win this one and another against Berthoud on Saturday.  RPI positioning is also in play as Holy Family sits 4th and Mead 6th in the current standings.  Mead jumped to a 26-12 halftime lead in the first matchup and held on for the fifth point win (50-45).  Nick Jacobs and Caleb Ayers combined for 27 points and five three-pointers in the win.  Adam Jolly (20) and Tanner Baird (15) were top scorers for the Tigers.
2A:  District Tournament
An early elimination game in District 6 opens the post-season in Class 2A tonight.  Las Animas is on the road to Hoehne in a pigtail game.  Las Animas placed fifth in the Eastern Division and Hoehne fourth and the winner will move into the quarterfinals next Tuesday against unbeaten Holly.
3A Frontier Tournament
First round games can be found in the Frontier league tonight as the post-season in Class 3A gets underway.  Winners advance to the quarterfinals while the loser see an end to the season.

  • Pinnacle at Jefferson
  • Lake County at Bruce Randolph
  • Bennett at Sheridan