First place battles are found in the 5A Centennial and Jeffco conferences tonight and they are at the top of our best games list. They’re joined by three others that could determine which teams remain in their respective title chase.
Manual at Faith Christian: The Thunderbolts and Eagles open the game tied with Jefferson Academy and Machebeuf in second in the 3A Metro. All four trail first place Lutheran by one game. Manual has beaten Jefferson Academy and plays Machebeuf on Friday so two wins get them very close to a top two league finish. Faith Christian has a loss to Lutheran so a win also puts them in great shape. The Eagles defense will be focused on slowing down Jaden Stoffell (25.4) who has scored 98 points in his first four league contests.
D’Evelyn at Golden: Golden (4-1) needs a win to keep pace with Wheat Ridge atop the 4A Jeffco race. D’Evelyn (3-2) remains in contention as they’re a game back and tied with Green Mountain for third. The Demons have dropped two of their last three including a league loss to Green Mountain (57-53). Kevin Mulligan and Alan Acevado both average 11.5 points per game for the Demons. D’Evelyn topped Green Mountain 68-62 in overtime but is coming off a loss to Wheat Ridge (63-50). Luke Kjellsen and Sandy Dinegar both score 11 points a night.
Smoky Hill at Cherry Creek: The Centennial rivals have combined for 24 wins already this season and they each sit 5-1 in conference. They’re tied with Grandview atop the standings so the winner keeps at least a share of the lead. Creek suffered their first league loss to Grandview in overtime last week (52-46) despite 19 points from Julian Hammond. Myles Purchase added 13. Smoky Hill edged Grandview in double overtime (66-63) to open the league slate and was also pushed to extra time in last Friday’s win over Eaglecrest (82-78). Quinten Rock poured in 32 points and Jalen Weaver 27 in the win.
Valor Christian at Ralston Valley: Coming off a huge win over Columbine last week, Valor Christian (10-5) can take a major step to winning the 5A Jeffco title by beating Ralston Valley. The win pushed Valor Christian into the top 10 this week while Ralston Valley (14-2) has been there the entire season. Talin Unruh (17) and Amondo Miller (11) combined for 28 in Valor’s win. Ralston Valley has won six straight and opened Jeffco action with a hard fought 71-68 win at Chatfield last Friday. Caleb Rillos finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Caden Gigstad added four treys in the win.
Highlands Ranch at Legend: The Continental race is just getting started but through two weeks, Legend (2-0) stands alone in first but they six one loss teams hot on their heels. Highlands Ranch (2-1) is one of those six. Legend features three double-digit scorers in Garrett Siebert (13.4), Tanner Lamb (12.6) and Cameron LeVan (10.8). Highlands Ranch has league wins over Mountain Vista and Heritage but stumbled in a 66-52 loss to Douglas County last week. Ryker Csarik (16.5), Tristan Hurdle (14.2) and Yafet Mesfin (13.0) pace the Falcons offense.
