Classes 4A and 5A dominate the top boys’ basketball game list for Tuesday night as many league leaders need wins against top challengers to stay alone in first. There is one team that could land a league championship with a win this evening.
Photo provided by Conifer schools.
Longmont at Centaurus: Longmont (8-1) needs a win over the third-place Warriors (7-3) to maintain their one game edge on Silver Creek in the 4A Northern division. Centaurus must get the win to remain in the league championship chase. Game one between the league rivals went to Longmont 48-29. The Trojans built a 31-9 halftime edge during a 19-3 blitz in the second quarter. Shooting was the main difference as Longmont hit 19 of 38 attempts (50%) compared to 12 of 42 for Centaurus (29%). Otherwise, the game was even as both teams nabbed 22 rebounds and they were separated by just one turnover. Eddie Kurjak (16) and Dallas Dye (15) combined for 31 points and hit 12 of 19 shots together on the night. Centaurus was just 12 of 42 from the field and placed one player in double figures; Owen Koonce with 11.
Conifer at Fort Lupton: Both teams enter the game unbeaten in the 4A/3A Colorado 8 conference but only Fort Lupton can clinch the championship with a win. They’ve already beaten third-place Weld Central so a win locks up the championship. Conifer faces the Rebels on Thursday so the Lobos can only wrap it up with a win if Weld Central is upset by Alameda (1-17). Fort Lupton is unbeaten since Christmas (8-0) including a quality win over Jefferson Academy on January 8th that began the current streak. In beating Weld Central 60-48 last week, the Blue Devils picked up 20 points and 10 rebounds from Elijah Mullett. Antonio Marquez added 10 points. Cesar Valdez added four steals and Kobe Roedel three. Those two will try to control Conifer point guard Landon Wallace who averages 10 assists, nine points, six rebounds and four steals per game. Wallace has dished out at least 10 assists in 10 games including the last three. His season best is 16 against both Kennedy and Englewood. Elijah Cook (13.6) and Ocean Hageman (11.4) top the Lobos in scoring.
Erie at Windsor: Mead (12-0) is well on their way to the 4A Tri Valley crown but these two are battling for second and third. Erie (10-2) has a one game edge on the Wizards (10-3) going in as they captured the first meeting 61-55 on January 16th. The Tigers came from behind to get that win as they outscored the Wizards 23-15 in the fourth. Kayan Hargrave (16) and Kevin Loy (13) sparked the rally as they combined for 29 points. Myles Meskers added two three-pointers and Hargrave led with nine rebounds. Windsor received 16 points apiece from Jaden Kennis and Ben Hagerman but overall the Wizards connected on just 32 percent of their shots (18-56) including 3 of 15 from the arc. Windsor has dropped both games to Mead so a second-place finish is likely their best finish. Erie challenges Mead next week but that game will not involve the league championship unless the Mavericks are upset by another league club. That’s not likely since Mead is winning conference games by an average of 20.5 points.
Mountain Vista at Legend: Six teams sit within one game of the 5A Continental league lead and this is the first of four games on tap this week involving those six clubs. Legend has one league loss and shares the top spot with Chaparral and ThunderRidge. Mountain Vista has two league losses and joins Regis and Rock Canyon one game off the pace. The Golden Eagles also face Regis on Friday so the they can separate a bit from the other two-loss teams with a couple of wins this week. Mountain Vista dropped their last league game to Douglas County (72-68) a week ago. Since, they fallen to Columbine by two points and scored 102 points in a win over 4A Falcon. Reece Kelly scored 19 points against Douglas County and Spencer Thomas 15. Legend led the conference for the first two weeks but fell back into the pack with a 52-51 loss at Regis last Thursday. Sean Evans and Tanner Lamb both scored 12 and Garrett Siebert collected seven rebounds.
Vista Peak at Gateway/Brighton at Rangeview: Gateway (5-0) and Rangeview (6-0) share the 5A East Metro lead and both face challenges from upper division opponents. Vista Peak (4-1) shares third place with Aurora Central while Brighton (5-2) is tied with Hinkley in fifth. Rangeview of course is heavily favored as the Raiders are unbeaten overall and ranked #1 in Class 5A. They’ve outscored six league opponents by 207 points; an average of 34.5 points per game. Christian Speller, Cade Palmer, Christopher Speller and Obi Agbim all average 11 points a game for the defending state champs. Brighton (8-9) had a share of first place starting last week but losses to Aurora Central and Gateway dropped them all the way to fourth. Blake Ferguson (13.5) is the lone double figure scorer. Vista Peaks’ lone league loss is against Rangeview so another loss to Gateway knocks the Bison out of the championship chase. Conversely, a win comes close to locking up a top two finish. Following the loss to Rangeview, the Bison handled Northglenn 80-36 as Sayo Owolabi and Teon Thomas each scored 14. 12 players scored overall. Gateway went 2-6 in non-league play but five straight conference wins has them in the title discussion. Seniors Maliq Alford (12.3) and DJ Wilson (11.2) top the Olys offense.
