Sole possession of the Southwestern league lead is on the line when Montrose and Fruita Monument collide tonight. It’s one of the top games statewide in boys’ basketball. Several other matchups on the schedule features teams trying to maintain conference leads against top challengers.
Eaton at Resurrection Christian: This appears to be the last hurdle for Resurrection Christian as they look to run the table and capture the 3A Patriot crown. The Cougars are 5-0 in conference play and lead the Reds (5-1) and Sterling (4-1) by one game and they’ve already beaten Sterling. Eaton though earns a piece of the top spot with an upset and creates a three-way tie with the Tigers and Cougars. The Reds’ league loss is at Sterling (72-58) but they’ve won two straight over Valley (85-56) and Brush (74-56). Three point shooting is critical for the Reds as they’ve connected on 125 for the season. Scott Grable has 34, Bryce Leafgren 28 and Gage Butler 20. Grable (14.5) is the leading scorer with Ryan Ure (12.3 points / 12.3 rebounds) a major factor on the inside. Resurrection Christian has also beaten Valley (97-64) and Brush (91-29) in their last two games. Their best league win is at Sterling in overtime (73-67). They’ve knocked in 103 treys including 30 from Isaac Jessup and 24 from Reece Johnson. They’re also 1-2 in scoring; combining for 35 points a game.
Longmont at Silver Creek: The Trojans are unbeaten in the 4A Northern and have built up a two game edge in the league chase. Silver Creek (5-2) is one team still within range as they sit tied with Centaurus (6-2) in second place. A loss tonight though leaves the Raptors outside the title discussion. The Raptors lost ground with their 73-54 loss to Centaurus last week. Their second league loss came at Longmont (67-57) in mid-January. Eddie Kurjak (17), Devon Nowells (16), Ryan Schneider (15) and Dallas Dye (13) all reached double figures for Longmont. Silver Creek picked up 21 from Andrew Scott but no other player had more than nine.
Pueblo West at Pueblo East: We thought this might be a battle of teams slotted 1-2 in the South Central but the roles are reversed from expectations. Pueblo West was the pre-season pick to win the South Central but a loss to Pueblo Central last week dropped them to a second place tie with the Wildcats. Both are one game back of Pueblo East (4-0) near the midway point of the conference schedule. East opened league play with a 54-50 win over Pueblo Central and will get a rematch with the Wildcats on Thursday. So two wins this week give the Eagles a nice two-game cushion over all other clubs. Darnell Kindred (17.2) tops Pueblo East in scoring. Jaxon Herring (6.5) leads the team in rebounds and is second in scoring (12.8). West shot just 35 percent from the field (19-54) against Centra last week. Taylor Harris and Nicolas Hanenberg each scored 10.
Glenwood Springs at Summit: A Glenwood Springs win turns the Western Slope chase into a two-team battle of the Demons and Steamboat Springs. Glenwood Springs is 6-0 and alone in first with Steamboat Springs next at 6-1. Summit is in third at 4-2 and they need a win to stay in contention. The Tigers dropped two games back with a 48-33 loss to Steamboat Springs last week. They also fell to Glenwood Springs (54-40) in their first conference meeting. Mitchell Burt (20) and John Iuele (18) combined for 38 points to lead Glenwood in that win. Cameron Kalaf and Nazarie Poliuk each dropped in a dozen for Summit.
Regis at Chaparral: Based on the tremendous post-season history for the conference, it’s surprising the Continental does not have a team inside the 5A Top 10 again this week. The league race though is very good as six teams begin the week within one game of the top spot. Legend (4-0) is the lone unbeaten but the Raiders and Wolverines are two of the five teams with just one conference loss. So this game sets up as an elimination game as the loser may have too much ground to make up. Regis was just 3-10 in non-league play but has won three of their first in the Continental. Michael Wolf (11.5) and Blakely Stoughton (10.5) lead Regis on offense. Wolf has 46 points in conference play and Stoughton 47. Chaparral has won two straight; beating Castle View 65-50 and Highlands Ranch 49-46 last week. Kobe Sanders had 17 and Joel Speckman 16 against Castle View. Maverick Patten paced the Wolves with 15 against Highlands Ranch and Sanders added 11.
Lincoln at Denver East: Denver East and Northfield are unbeaten and share the DPL lead. Lincoln is one game and tied with George Washington in third. East has not been pushed in winning four league games by 56, 61, 16 and 58 points. They’ve also scored at least 80 points in 13 of 17 games overall. Conversely, Lincoln has a season high of 73 points in an overtime win against Thomas Jefferson. Their league loss came to George Washington (65-56). East standouts Boston Stanton (21.1) and Langston Reynolds (19.8) combine for 41 points a game while Patrick Steed (12.1), Quis Davis (10.6) and Tom Connelly (10.1) all average double figures. Lincoln is led by Tijani Bamba with 24.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Ty Foster adds 14.9 and 5.0.
Montrose at Fruita Monument: This is game one of two conference battles between the Indians and Wildcats and the outcomes will determine the league championship. That’s because both teams are 3-0 in the Southwestern league and each has a two game edge on third place Grand Junction Central. Montrose has beaten the three other conference teams by a combined 64 points. Fruita’s margin of victory against the same opponents is 109. The Indians are paced by the duo of Luke Hutto (14.6) and Sean Alex (12.4). Hutto also tops the team with nearly eight rebounds a game. Other contributors on offense include Trey Reese (9.9) and Trey Schwerdtfeger (8.3) who also combine for 11 rebounds a night. Fruita’s offense is centered on Marcus Labonde (21.3) with support from Ian Barnes (9.2), Cole Savage (9.0) and Dillion Keithley (8.6). Barnes (6.4) and Labonde (6.1) are the top rebounders.
