League positioning for better post-season seeding is the focus for many of the top games tonight in boys’ basketball but there a few games that will help determine league championships.
Pikes Peak Christian at Evangelical Christian: With just three days left in the regular season, the only sure thing in the 1A Black Forest is that a group of Eagles will win the league championship. The Pikes Peak Chrsitian Eagles enter this game with the Evangelical Christian Eagles tied with the Edison Eagles in first. ECA is a game back in third. Pikes Peak Christian meets Edison on Saturday so a win tonight makes that a winner-take-all for the championship. ECA stays alive for a piece of the championship if they get the home win. Pikes Peak Christian has lost three of four since scoring an important league win over Elbert (49-48) to close January. Ethan Moore (13.8) is the top scorer with Ben Schneider (11.4) and Uriah Wehner (10.3) also averaging double figures. The trio also collects nearly 21 rebounds a game. Evangelical Christian has won seven of eight since falling to Edison 55-53 in mid-January. Six of those seven wins are by at least 16 points. Jason Holt averages a team best 20 points a game for ECA and adds five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Manzanola at Cotopaxi: The winner is third in the 1A Southern Peaks and will be placed opposite league champion Sangre De Cristo in the district tournament. Cotopaxi (6-2) currently has the position but Manzanola (5-3) trails by just one game. Neither team can fall farther than fourth overall. Manzanola had the better showing against the league champions as they pushed Sangre De Cristo before falling 67-58. Cotopaxi fell behind 26-11 at halftime and never recovered in a 60-35 setback. Blake Williams leads Manzanola in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (9.3). Axel Escareno adds 16 points and six rebounds as well. Cotopaxi’s main weapon is Chance Guliford with 20 points and 12 rebounds a night.
Crested Butte at Ouray: It’s an interesting rematch of an early season game where Ouray exploded for a 68-38 win. The Titans though have won 13 of 14 games since and will be the 2A Southern Peaks champions. Ouray used that win as part of their 5-0 start but they’re just 5-5 following the hot start. The Trojans outscored Crested Butte 22-4 in the first quarter and then added 20 more points in the second. Jackson Leo (21) and Channing Green (17) combined for 38 points and seven three-pointers. Liam Miller added 11 points and six rebounds. Crested Butte had just four players in the scoring column with Ethan Bacani getting 17. They were 0-14 from the three-point line and were outrebounded 31-20. Murphy Smith had nine boards and Carlos Franco five and Bacani provided five assists.
Merino at Briggsdale: If the 1A District 4 bracket were laid out today Briggsdale would be the top seed and Merino third so they could only meet in the finals. But they could also battle in the regional tournament if both teams move on from districts. The Falcons lead the North Central by one game but still need a win over Prairie tomorrow to secure the championship. Merino has struggled in the Lower Platte of late dropping their last three conference games.
Delta at Gunnison/Coal Ridge at Moffat County: The final two games involving league leaders in the 3A Western Slope will determine the champion. Gunnison and Coal Ridge (7-1) share the lead but since the Cowboys won the head-to-head matchup, they’re the champions by beating Delta. They also claim the title if both teams come up short. Coal Ridge can only land the title with a win and a Gunnison loss. Regardless of outcome, both teams have secured a top two finish. Hunter Wood (20.6), Braden Wood (13.5) and Aidan Hulbert (10.6) are double figure scorers for Gunnison. Austin Gerber (18.1) leads Coal Ridge but five others average at least five. Gerber is also competing in a national three-point contest and is one of eight players left in the competition nationwide. The games are also important to Delta and Coal Ridge as the two are battling Grand Valley for third and fourth. All three clubs are 5-3. Grand Valley has beaten the other two so they land third by beating Roaring Fork this evening.
Pueblo East at Pueblo West: Pueblo East has wrapped up the 4A South Central crown but Pueblo West needs a win to gain second place outright. A loss drops the Cyclones back into a tie with Pueblo Central and those two clubs have split their regular season battles. Pueblo East though is also shooting for a perfect 10-0 run through the conference slate. They beat they Cyclones 69-51 in the first meeting. Darnell Kindred tallied 20 points, Jaxon Herring 16, Marvin London 12 and Kyle Miller 11. Taylor Harris picked up 24 for the Cyclones but no other player had more than eight.
Broomfield at Monarch: The Eagles are favored here but they need a win to grab third place in the 5A Front Range. Broomfield (8-2) leads Horizon (8-3) by one game in the loss column but lost the head-to-head matchup. The Eagles also tangle with Fairview on Friday so they still have some work remaining. Horizon closes the regular season against Legacy this evening.
George Washington at Valor Christian: A very good matchup for Valor Christian to finish the regular season and a great pairing for George Washington as they prep for the annual DPL clash with Denver East on Saturday. The Patriots are also #20 in RPI so a couple of wins could get them into the top 16 to earn a first-round bye in the state bracket. Valor Christian will finish in the Jeffco if Ralston Valley beats Arvada West on Friday. The Eagles are #7 in RPI and safely among the top 16.
3A Patriot: The post-season officially starts with three pigail games on tap tonight. Brush hosts Liberty Common with the winner meeting top seeded Resurrection Christian in the quarterfinals on Friday. Platte Valley is home to Frontier Academy with the winner advancing to face #3 Eaton and the winner between Valley and Estes Park meets #2 Sterling tomorrow.
