Basketball action resumes across the state this weekend as teams try to shake off the holiday rust as quickly as possible. The schedule is filled with several important conference games and we look at those and other attractive matchups in the first week of January.
CLASS 1A
Peetz at Briggsdale (Friday)
It’s the first of two meetings that will likely decide the North Central league championship and possible number one seed for the district tournament. Briggsdale is 7-1 and has won five straight since a 41-point loss to DeBeque. They’ve already posted league wins over Fleming and Weldon Valley. Wyatt Patton leads the Falcons with 22 pots and four rebounds per game and scored 58 combined points against Fleming and Weldon Valley. Peetz, the defending state champions, opened the season at 3-0 but has dropped two of their last two three. Their lone league game resulted in a 52-49 win over Prairie. Losses are against Haxtun (78-52) and Bridgeport NE (51-33).
Fleming at Arickaree/Woodlin (Friday)
Despite sitting at 2-4 overall, Fleming enters the second half of the season riding a two-game winning streak as they closed December with wins over Kiowa (38-32) and Weldon Valley (46-25). The Wildcats do not feature a senior on the team but are led by junior Blake Williams and sophomore Kade Comstock who together averaged 17 points a game last season. Arickaree/Woodlin (5-1) has won three straight since a four-point loss to Briggsdale. Three seniors, Kevin Ramirez (13.2), Michael McCaffrey (11.5) and Andy Miller (11.2) all average double figures and a fourth, Arturo Ramos provides nine points a contest.
Heritage Christian at Longmont Christian (Friday)
Other than a loss to Front Range Baptist, this will be the most difficult test of the young season for Longmont Christian. First year coach James Powell has directed the team to a 4-1 record but the schedule has been a bit lackluster to this point. Balance has been the key as six players average at least six points per game with Nick Holst (11.5) leading the list. Heritage Christian (6-1) has also played Front Range Baptist and picked up a 52-49 win. Josiah Bowser, with nearly 19 points and five rebounds per game, is a player of the year candidate in Class 2A. His season high of 30 came in a 70-64 win over Dayspring Christian.
Kim/Branson at Wiley (Friday)
A couple of overtime wins at the Lamar Holiday Tournament should give Wiley plenty of momentum heading into January. They edged Granada 69-62 in overtime in round two and then captured the consolation title with a 58-51 decision over McClave. Junior Lawrence Lucero leads the Wiley offense but the Panthers also got solid play in the tournament from freshman Westin Langston. Kim/Branson (5-2) has played just three games against 1A competition and has posted wins over Sierra Grande, Primero and La Veta. Elijah Aragon (12.0) is the top scorer while freshman Joe Buhrle has provided 11 pots and five rebounds a game.
Kit Carson at Arickaree/Woodlin (Saturday)
In addition to the Friday matchup with Fleming, Arickaree/Woodlin faces a tough back-to-back as they also host Kit Carson on Saturday. The Wildcats split six December contests and did so without Jayden McCombs-Farmer (10.3) on the roster. He led the team in scoring as a sophomore but has been out of the lineup due to injury and his status for January is still unknown. The Wildcats went 1-2 at the Lamar Holiday Tournament and finished fourth there. Chris Bryan (12.0) is the lone double-digit scorer.
CLASS 2A
Fowler at Holly (Saturday)
It’s still very early in the Santa Fe chase but since this is the only meeting between the two pre-season favorites, the winner could easily end up with the conference championship. Fowler (5-2) is unbeaten against 2A clubs and posted league wins over Rye (62-42) and John Mall (55-39) in their final two December games. Sophomore Val Leone (10.3) and Johnathan Mobbley (10.2) combine for nearly 21 points a game and together pull down over nine boards. Both are over 6-3 and the Grizzlies will need the length to defend a Holly team that is long at almost every position. The Wildcats (7-0) has beaten Swallows Charter (84-49), Rocky Ford (68-57) and Swink (61-44) in Santa Fe action. Jarret Rushton (15.2), Brigden Parker (13.8) and Michael Rushton (13.2) pace Holly in scoring with Parker, Jesus Dominguez and Kobe Davis each pulling down six rebounds a game.
John Mall at Swallows Charter (Friday)
A good battle of two clubs hoping for a top four finish in the Santa Fe. They also meet again on February 8th in Walsenburg. John Mall is 7-3 overall but is 1-2 inside the conference with a win over Las Animas and losses to Fowler and Rye. Jaziah Sandoval leads the Panthers in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (9.8). Swallows started league play with a lopsided loss to Holly but has won their last three; beating Crowley County, Rye and Hoehne. They won just six conference games a year ago. Devon Jones (13.5), Jared Garrett (10.6) are the leading scorers and Ben Compton tops the team in rebounding (7.4).
Haxtun at Sedgwick County (Friday)
The Lower Platte league is always among the deepest and most talented 2A conferences and these two clubs expect to be in the middle of the chase and possibly challenge defending state champion Yuma for the championship. It’s the league opener for both teams but the second meeting between the two this season. Sedgwick County won the first matchup 41-29 but the Bulldogs played the game without top guard Joey Gerk. Since his return, the Bulldogs have won three straight including a high-quality road win at Peetz and a rivalry game with Holyoke. Sedgwick County’s earlier win got them started on their current three-game winning streak. They also challenge local rival Fleming on Saturday.
Limon at Denver Christian (Saturday)
The Badgers dropped a road game to Fowler (47-46) on December 14th but responded with wins over Rocky Ford (53-49) and Calhan (61-30) to finish the first month of the season at 5-1. The matchup with the Thunder will be their second game back as they also face Genoa Hugo the night before. Denver Christian is 2-3 but every game has been against either a 3A or 4A opponent. Eu Asefaw (11.8) is the lone double-digit scorer but Henry Vandenberg, with nine points and eight rebounds per game, is also a major contributor on both ends.
Bayfield at Ignacio (Saturday)
This game wraps up a good weekend of basketball in the Southwest corner as the Wolverines, Bobcats, Durango and Montezuma Cortez are involved a nice tournament full of rivalries. Both clubs are below five hundred for the season but each has great tradition filled with post-season success. Bayfield (3-4) gets 21 points and six rebounds a game from Turner Kennedy while Hayden Farmer chips in 11 and six. Both are seniors and played very important roles in leading the Wolverines to the 3A crown last March. Ignacio (2-4) closed December with a much needed 73-55 win over Dove Creek that snapped a four-game losing streak. The Bobcats also play Montezuma Cortez on Friday and Bayfield tangles with Durango as well.
