CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL WEEKEND PREVIEW by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL WEEKEND PREVIEW

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

With the regular season wrapping up next week, our focus right now is on the weekend schedule leading up to the final week. District tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, and those are the rankings we use for our previews.

THURSDAY

Sitting 1-2 in the seeding index, Belleview Christian and Denver Jewish Day know that one of them will be the top seed in the District 8 field. They meet next week to settle that, but both have a non-league game on Thursday that will bring good RPI points if they can win.

Belleview Christian (1^st) travels to Pikes Peak Christian (12^th), with Nathaniel Owen nearly having recorded consecutive triple-doubles. The senior got one last Thursday in an 83-56 victory over Flatirons Academy (7^th), with 32 points, 19 rebounds, and 11 blocks. He followed that up with 15 points, eight boards, and eight assists in Tuesday’s 93-45 win over Rocky Mountain Lutheran. He got a lot of help in that game, with Brandon Ewing (21), Moises Lopez (13), Davin Hunter (11), and Jagga Sandhu (10) all joining him in double digits.

Pikes Peak Christian was out-manned by Denver Jewish Day on Monday, with the Tigers taking an 84-44 win on the road. Eddie Harmon (16) and Gabriel Fletcher (13) combined for 29 points to lead the Eagles.

Denver Jewish Day steps up two classifications to host 3A #15 Bishop Machebeuf. The Tigers, winners of 10 straight, will face a Buffaloes squad that has won its last four. It’s the final tune-up for DJD before closing out the regular season with Belleview Christian on Tuesday.

McClave (3^rd) has a pretty good lead on Cheraw (9^th) for the top spot in the District 2 field, but every remaining game for both will carry extra weight. Especially when the two meet to next Friday to close out the regular season. The Cards visit High Plains foe Kit Carson (34^th) who is scratching and clawing to secure a spot in the regional field. McClave has won three straight in the series and six of the last seven meetings with the Wildcats. The Cards have also won six consecutive on the season.

Stratton (4^th) has a slight lead over Otis (6^th) for the #1 seed in the District 5 bracket, but the Eagles still have eyes for a bigger prize, the Union Pacific league title. After going 3-1 in their first four league games, including a 71-51 loss at Genoa-Hugo (5^th) last Thursday, the Eagles host 2A #20 Burlington in league action. Stratton trails 2A #2 Limon by one game in the standings and is one game ahead of the Cougars. After having their six-game winning streak snapped by that loss last week, the Eagles have rebounded to win their last two. Burlington has dropped its last three after winning three straight. Those losses have been by 10, 10, and two. The last was at Limon.

Otis is red-hot, winning nine straight since suffering losses to Stratton to end December and begin January. The Bulldogs have seen senior Jack Willeke elevate his play during the winning streak, as he’s scored double figures in all but one game during the current stretch, and he’s averaging right around 10 rebounds a game, as well. The Bulldogs will host another squad of Bulldogs, with Peetz (32^nd) visiting. Otis owns a 62-48 victory over Peetz from the early portion of December. Willeke went for 16 points and 12 rebounds in that contest. Peetz has lost four of its last five and is in danger of sliding out of the top-32 in the seeding index.

FRIDAY

A number of top-20 showdowns litter the Friday landscape, and the biggest one just might have McClave hosting Fleming (10^th). The Wildcats had a three-game winning streak snapped by Genoa-Hugo last Saturday (47-39) but Braylen Feather continued his strong play with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The senior has scored double figures in all but two games this season, and in both of those he tallied nine. He has seven double-doubles on the year. A win could all but lock up the top seed in the District 4 field for Fleming, who sits just one spot ahead of Briggsdale (11^th). Fleming has already beaten Briggsdale for the North Central title.

It’s another tough 2A challenge for Stratton, as the Eagles will visit Simla (4^th) on Friday. Junior Cyler Notter is averaging right around 17 points a game, and has only been held to single digits once. Simla enters having won four straight, three by at least 20 points. The Bear Cubs are the lone Colorado team to possess a victory over McClave.

Cheraw travels to Granada (20^th) looking to not only extend a four-game winning streak, but to also keep pressure on McClave in the chase for the top seed in district play. The Wolverines had to work a pair of overtimes on Tuesday against 2A #26 Las Animas. The Wolverines outscored Las Animas 35-30 in the second half to force the extra sessions. Granada broke a two-game skid with a 67-53 win over Walsh last weekend. The Bobcats will host Kim/Branson (40^th) on Thursday, so they won’t be able to completely focus on Cheraw until after that. Brandon Gonzales recently returned from illness after missing more than a month, and the sharpshooter drilled a three in his first game back, a loss to Cheyenne Wells (13^th).

Cheyenne Wells hosts Eads (15^th) with the winner likely grabbing the #3 seed in District 2. The Tigers have won three of their last four and seven of nine. Ty Scheler led a trio of players in double figures in last week’s win over Granada. Blake Gilmore added 13 and Carson Noe tallied 10. Eads could be riding a two-game winning streak into that contest, as the Eagles visit South Baca (45^th) on Thursday. They had won three of four and five of seven before that road trip. Eads is looking for its first win over the Tigers since 2009, a run of 16 consecutive losses in the series.

While not technically a top-20 clash, Briggsdale hosting Arickaree (21^st) is as close as you can get. Briggsdale has won four straight since suffering a four-game losing streak. Those losses were to 2A #13 Wiggins, Otis, Fleming, and 2A #22 Haxtun. The best wins in their current streak were on Saturday against Flatirons Academy and Front Range Baptist (14^th) on Monday. Arickaree’s recent 3-3 stretch has caused the Bison to slip out of the top-20 and they currently sit fourth in District 5. This is one of their final chances to really boost their positioning, along with a trip to Hanover (33^rd) on Saturday.

Another key game to keep an eye on has Sierra Grande (17^th) visiting Sangre de Cristo (27^th). The Panthers nearly upset McClave on Tuesday, falling 46-44 after being outscored 14-12 in the fourth quarter. All of their scoring came from three players: Brian Ontiveros (17), Manuel Miranda (14), and Aron Ojeda (13). They hold a slim lead over Centennial (19^th) for the top spot in the District 6 bracket, and they play the Rams on Saturday. Sangre sits third and while it doesn’t look as though the Thunderbirds can move much either direction, they can make things extremely interesting down the stretch with an upset.

SATURDAY

Regardless of the outcome of Sierra Grande’s game with Sangre de Cristo on Friday, Saturday’s home clash with Centennial should determine the top seed. But, both teams still have important games next week that might result in a bit of last minute jostling. After not posting a 10-win season since 2012-13, the Rams have already won 11 and are on the verge of the program’s first winning campaign since 2015-16. Devon Vigil (15.9 ppg) and Diego Romero (11.7 ppg) have provided more than half of the offensive punch for the Rams this season. A win would be the program’s first over the Panthers since 2009, and just their second in the past 27 meetings overall.

It’s a high RPI weekend for Fleming, as the Wildcats back up their Friday trip to McClave with a home game on Saturday against Flatirons Academy. Wins in both, or even one of two, should improve their cushion over Briggsdale for the lead spot in D4. It won’t be an easy task, as the Bison are likely to enter on a two-game winning streak. They already beat Mile High Academy (36^th) on Tuesday and will host Denver Waldorf (28^th) on Thursday. Eight players had at least six points in the win on Tuesday, with Parker Wilson (15), Josiah Durrill (12), and Jude Meyer (11) all going for double digits.

Springfield (23^rd) has what is likely its best chance to overtake La Veta (22^nd) for the top spot in District 3 when the Longhorns host Cheraw. The Longhorns are just 2-5 in their last seven heading into Friday’s Ark Valley contest at home against Walsh (49^th). One of those losses came against La Veta (67-59) a couple weeks back. Springfield has lost three straight against Cheraw, but last year was only 41-39.

Cheyenne Wells takes a step up to face 2A #5 Holly on Saturday and the Tigers will be looking to snap an eight-game skid in the series. Their last win over the Wildcats came in 2012. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Holly’s head coach, Carlos Huerta, who formerly served a stint as the head coach for the Cheyenne Wells ladies program.