First place teams get challenged by second place teams in two of our selections for top games of the night in boys’ basketball. The third game on our list involves third place in the 2A Santa Fe.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Melo.
Harrison at Widefield: Widefield handed Harrison their only league loss to date and a season sweep leaves the two teams tied with Classical Academy atop the CS Metro. The Panthers are 9-1 with the Gladiators and Titans at 7-2. The Panthers also face Classical Academy on Wednesday so two wins this week put them in great position to capture the league crown. Widefield topped Harrison 63-52 in the first meeting. A 19-9 run in the second quarter for the Gladiators was the difference as the teams were separated by just one point over the remaining three periods. Randall Days (17), Donte Scott (15) and Tim Mewborn (13) all reached double figures for Widefield while Harrison picked up 23 from Donta Dawson. Despite the loss, the Panthers won the rebound battle (35-26) and committed two fewer turnovers.
Pueblo West at Pueblo East: East opens the night with a one game edge on West in the 4A South Central so a win opens up some space for the Eagles. West was the pre-season favorite to land the championship but an unexpected overtime loss to Pueblo Central (54-49) last month leaves them trying to make up ground. East scored a 54-50 win over Pueblo Central in their first meeting; leaving them alone atop the race. Darnell Kindred (17.0) is the top scorer for East and Jaxon Herring (6.4) is the top rebounder. Kindred had 19 points and Herring six rebounds against Central. Seniors Taylor Harris (15.0) and Jimmy Wardle (12.4) lead the Cyclones attack. Both put in their best conference scoring totals against Centennial. Harris went for 21 last week while Wardle exploded for 31 in the first meeting last month.
Crowley County at Rocky Ford: Fowler and Holly seem to have the top two spots in the 2A Santa Fe wrapped up but Crowley County can nail down third with a win tonight. Rocky Ford though is just one back of the Chargers and create a two-way tie for the spot if they get the victory. A loss drops the Meloneers back into a fourth-place tie with Hoehne. It’s the second meeting between the two but the first came on December 10th so quite a bit has changed for both clubs. In that one, the Chargers built a 17-point halftime advantage and held on from there.
