With Friday marking a full schedule in every class, we’ve extended our list of top games in boys’ basketball to ten. Our goal was to select the best two in each class but we extended Class 3A to three selections and narrowed the list in Class 4A to just one game.
Colorado Preps will recap all the action during the Basketball Scoreboard Show. It airs from 8-10pm tonight on 17 radio stations throughout the state. The photo is provided by Lance Wendt.
1A: Cheyenne Wells at Kit Carson – Cheraw may end up in the mix, but this game could decide the High Plains league championship and the top district seed. The teams are a combined 17-3 overall and are together unbeaten at 3-0 inside the conference. Sullivan Farmer and Jayden McCombs-Farmer both average right at 12 points a game to lead the Wildcats while the Tigers get a good share of their offense from Quade Pelton.
1A: Cotopaxi at Sangre De Cristo – We project this game will determine the Southern Peaks championship with the winner landing the top spot in the district pairings. The T-Birds are 8-0 overall with only one game decided by single digits (Rocky Ford). They also topped Cotopaxi 67-40 a year ago on their way to the state finals. Cole Christensen (24.6) paces the Sangre attack. He’s countered by Chance Guliford (19.6) for Cotopaxi. The Pirates are 7-2 with lone losses to Evangelical Christian and Kim/Branson. They’ve won their last three.
2A: Sanford at Center – This is the first of two meetings between the Indians and Vikings and the two games could determine the top two spots in the Southern Peaks chase. Sanford (7-3) has won four straight and has played just two games against 2A competition. They topped South Park and Crested Butte by a combined 63 points in league play last week. Center has split their last four overall but has league victories over Sargent (38-30) and Del Norte (55-38).
2A: Heritage Christian at Highland – The top ranked Huskies may get challenged much in the Mile High conference but this could be one of their top two challengers. Highland is 4-0 since the Christmas break with all four wins by at least 33 points. Heritage Christian is 8-1 with a single setback to 3A Estes Park. They have league wins over Longmont Christian, Twin Peaks Charter and Lyons. Their top scorer is Jaden Johnson (22.0) who also averages four assists and five steals per game. Highland’s top player is Tate Bessire who averages 23 points, nearly six rebounds, six assists and six steals a game.
3A: Montezuma Cortez at Alamosa – Both teams are unbeaten in the IML and tied with Centauri for the early lead. Since the Panthers also go to Centauri on Saturday, they can take complete control of the race with victories in both games. Cortez averages 62.5 points per game in league play compared to 59.5 for the Moose. Alamosa’s offense is led by Brendan Crowther, Ian Jackson and Sam Clark. Cortez turns to Teagan Whiteskunk, Titus Jackson and Adrian Mark as their first three options.
3A: Sterling at Eaton – This marks the second important game of the week for both clubs and they enter with different levels of momentum. The Reds scored a huge road win at University (75-65) on Tuesday which kept them tied with Resurrection Christian atop the Patriot. Sterling rallied from 12 down to Resurrection Christian but lost a five-point lead in the final minute in an overtime loss to the Cougars. As a result, the Tigers are in third place and one game back in the league standings. Nic Inda scored 26 to lead Eaton over University. He got help from Gage Butler (15), Bryce Leafgren (13) and Ryan Ure (10). Sterling hit 34 combined three-pointers last week in league wins over Valley and Brush.
3A: Salida at Manitou Springs – This game is under the radar statewide but it’s very important to the Tri Peaks title chase. The Spartans (3-0) and Mustangs (5-0) are both unbeaten against conference rivals and share first place with Lamar and Vanguard (4-0). The winner keeps a share of the lead while the loser falls all the way to fourth place. Of the two, Manitou Springs has the most impressive league win to date as they took out St Mary’s 67-50 last Friday behind 24 points from Isaiah Thomas. The Mustangs also knocked in 11 treys.
4A: Wheat Ridge at D’Evelyn – The Farmers look to rebound from Wednesday’s loss to Golden where they lost the outright lead in the Jeffco. Now they open the game at 3-1 in conference play and tied with both D’Evelyn and Golden for the top spot. D’Evelyn is below five hundred overall (7-8) but they’ve won four straight including a 68-62 overtime win against Green Mountain. Sandy Dinegar (23) and Luke Kjellsen (22) combined for 45 points. Wheat Ridge gave up 11 three pointers in the loss to Golden.
5A: Eaglecrest at Smoky Hill – Teams in the Centennial continue to work through the first half of their rugged 14-game league schedule. Smoky Hill (4-1) is tied with Grandview in second place while Eaglecrest (3-2) slid to fourth with a loss to Cherry Creek earlier in the week. The Bruins lead the chase at 5-0 but are not ranked again this week. Smoky Hill is coming off a wild 86-74 win over Arapahoe where they outscored the Warriors 26-16 in the fourth quarter. Quinten Rock threw in 37 points including three treys. Eaglecrest has lost two straight as before the Cherry Creek game, they came up short to Grandview. Zion Ruckard (17.4) paces the Raptors in scoring but tallied a season low 11 in the loss to Creek.
5A: Columbine at Valor Christian – The Jeffco race should come down to these two and Ralston Valley. The Rebels have spent most of the season in the top 10 and opened conference play by beating Dakota Ridge 58-42 last Friday. Luke O’Brien went for 25 points and 16 rebounds; his fifth straight double-double and ninth on the season. Valor Christian has won six straight and has momentum thanks to Monday’s win over Denver East (82-64). Trailing by three after one quarter, the Eagles then outscored East 47-26 over the next two periods. Five players reached double figures led by Rocky Beers with 17.
