CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEW – THURSDAY
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
While most districts have reached the semifinal round, two are just at the quarterfinal stage. There should be some serious movement in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index after today’s games are completed, with a lot of top teams squaring off.
DISTRICT 1 (GRAND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL)
Byes through the quarterfinals were awarded to the top two seeds, sending #1 Dove Creek and #2 Nucla into Friday’s semifinals. Those teams will learn their opponents later today. Dove Creek awaits the winner between #4 Ouray and #5 North Park. Ouray begins the day right on the cut line, sitting 32nd in the Seeding Index. The Trojans snapped a four-game skid last Thursday with a two-point win over Olathe. That skid included losses to both of the top two seeds. North Park is five spots back and the Wildcats know that even a trip to the district finals might not be enough to get them into regionals. The Wildcats won their last two and three of four, but were just 4-6 in their final 10. They did not play Ouray during the regular season.
Of the teams in the quarterfinals, #3 De Beque has the best chance of making the regional field with a stumble today, as the Dragons begin sitting 26th. They broke a six-game slide last Friday, but have not won consecutive games since Jan. 24th and 27th. The earlier of those two games was a 45-32 victory over their quarterfinal opponent, #6 Caprock Academy, one of two owned by the Dragons over the Eagles. Caprock dropped three straight to end the regular season, and seven of its last 10 overall. Freshman Jace Graham posted a 15-10 double-double for De Beque in the most recent win over the Eagles, and Scottie Vines led all scorers with 18. Alex Spinu had a dozen for Caprock Academy, which was outscored 20-6 in the fourth quarter of that loss.
DISTRICT 2 (LAMAR COMMUNITY BUILDING)
Chalk held in the District 2 quarterfinals, putting the top four seeds in the semifinal round. That gives a pairing of #1 McClave and #4 Granada in the top half of the draw. Granada held off a very tough Eads squad 50-47 in the quarters on Tuesday, with John Hainer scoring a team-high 18 points. That pushed him over 1000 points in his career. Jonus Guevara added 15 and Maddox Coleman, 10. Brandon Gonzales hit a late three-pointer to put the Bobcats in front. Eads led by a dozen in the final period. McClave got to sit out the quarterfinal round after receiving a bye. The Cards have been off since being upset by Cheraw 37-35 last Friday. That loss snapped a 10-game winning streak. McClave has beaten Granada twice this season, 55-47 in the Lamar Holiday Tournament, and 66-48 a month ago. Gonzales did not play in the second meeting.
The other semifinal has #2 Cheyenne Wells squaring off against #3 Cheraw. The Tigers pushed their winning streak to six with a 47-30 win over Kit Carson in the quarters. It was their second win over their rivals in less than a week. Cheraw used a strong 13-4 first quarter to get all of the separation it would need to beat Wiley 45-35 on Tuesday. It gave the Wolverines wins in their last two, and seven in their last eight. Cheyenne Wells took the regular season match-up 35-34 on Jan. 20th. Braeden Harris led all scorers with 15 points, and Tim Provost added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines. Ty Scheler topped the Tigers with nine, and freshman Corey Hill added eight.
DISTRICT 4 (NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE)
With Briggsdale and Fleming receiving byes into the semifinals, only two quarterfinals are being played in District 4. The #4 seed, Peetz, squares off against #5 Longmont Christian for the right to face the top-seeded Briggsdale Falcons in the semis. Peetz won its regular season finale and will be looking for its second streak of consecutive wins. The Bulldogs haven’t won two straight since late December and early January. Longmont Christian dropped its last three games of the regular season, all against teams from bigger classifications. The Trojans are the lone 1A program in the Mile High league, which is full of 2A and 3A squads. They only played six games against 1A opponents this season, going 4-2. Peetz began the day 31st in the Seeding Index, with the Warriors 33rd.
Fleming won the North Central title, but finished behind Briggsdale in the Seeding Index, giving the Wildcats the #2 seed. They await the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between #3 Prairie and #6 Weldon Valley. It’s the second meeting between the two programs in just a matter of days, as Prairie beat the Warriors 57-18 last Saturday. The Mustangs finished the year by winning four of their last six, after going through a 10-game losing streak. Weldon Valley opened the season with seven straight losses and closed with a 10-game skid of its own. Prairie may need the win to keep its regional hopes alive, with the Mustangs starting the day 30th in the Seeding Index, and a lot of movement still to come of the new few days.
DISTRICT 6 (DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL)
Sierra Grande finally gets to open postseason play, as the #1 Panthers are set to take on #4 Moffat in the semifinals. Moffat got a 71-41 win over Antonito on Tuesday, thanks to a 34-14 first quarter eruption. It broke a three-game slide for the Cowboys. The first of those losses came against Sierra Grande, 69-37 on Feb. 2nd. The win was the last of a five-game streak for the Panthers, who closed the regular season with two straight losses, and just a 2-3 mark in their final five. Brian Ontiveros and Manuel Miranda each had 23 points for the Panthers, with each hitting five threes. Ziah Pesqueira led Moffat with 15.
Second-seeded Centennial also had a bye in the quarters, so the Rams are just getting their feet wet in the postseason. They will face off with #3 Sangre de Cristo, who advanced with a 57-43 win over Creede on Tuesday. The win was just the second in the last five games for the T-Birds, who have split a pair of games this season with Centennial. The Rams took a 60-39 in the Thunderbird Shootout back in the first weekend of the season, behind 19 points from Devon Vigil. Diego Romero nearly added a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Kaiden Smit led Sangre with 12 points, 11 boards, and six steals. The T-Birds avenged that loss with a 67-50 win in late January. Andreas Olivas led everyone with 32 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Smit added a line of 17/12/6 (steals) for his second double-double against the Rams. Vigil led Centennial with 14 points.
DISTRICT 8 (HOME SITES)
Top-seeded Belleview Christian got to sit and watch the quarterfinal round after the Bruins received a forfeit. They saw #4 Front Range Baptist jump on Denver Academy of Torah, 41-12 in the first half. The Falcons went on to claim a 63-29 victory, their second straight. It earned them another shot at the Bruins, who handed them a 50-44 loss on Jan. 17th. Ethan Granthan led FRB with 18 points in that defeat, while Nate Owen powered the Bruins with 19 points and six blocks. Brandon Ewing missed the contest for Belleview Christian.
After coming up short in their bid to wrestle the 5280 title away from Belleview in the season finale, #2 Denver Jewish Day took out some frustration on Mile High Academy in the quarterfinals, racing to a 92-20 win. The Tigers will host #3 Flatirons Academy, a 66-26 quarterfinal winner over Denver Waldorf. DJD got 14 points and eight rebounds from Keenan Winnerman in a 55-38 win over Flatirons back on Jan. 26th. Trey Abeyta led the Bison with 10.
CLASS 1A GIRLS BASKETBALL DISTRICT PREVIEW – THURSDAY
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
The final two districts to get tournament play underway will join the fray later today, while two others will get their championship pairings sorted out, as semifinals are the order of the day in District 2 and District 6. District 1 and District 4 each have a single quarterfinal, acting as a play-in game.
DISTRICT 1 (GRAND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL)
The top three seeds in the tournament all received byes through the quarterfinals, leaving one game to determine the fourth semifinalist. Fourth-seeded North Park squares off with #5 Caprock Academy, with the winner advancing to face #1 Dove Creek in the semifinals.
North Park won its last two regular season games, and four of its last six, narrowly missing out on the third seed for the bracket. Instead, the Lady Wildcats must get through Caprock Academy in the quarterfinals. They are just barely inside the top-32 of the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index, entering the day 30th, so a loss just might end their regional hopes. The Lady Eagles started at 35th, so they know a loss will most likely eliminate them from regional contention. Caprock broke a seven-game skid in its regular season finale, but the Lady Eagles are just 2-9 in their last 11. North Park handed the Lady Eagles one of those losses, 46-39, behind Dezirae Gonzales, who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Brooke Chang paced Caprock Academy with 13 points.
DISTRICT 2 (LAMAR COMMUNITY BUILDING)
The quarterfinal round saw three games decided by a total of 10 points, with only one upset. Fifth-seeded Eads overcame a third quarter in which it was outscored 16-2 by #4 Cheraw, to beat the Lady Wolverines 45-43. The Lady Eagles got the win with a 15-13 fourth. They converted 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch to punch their ticket into the semifinals against #1 McClave. McClave received the bye into that match-up, and rides a 19-game winning streak. The Lady Cards got a 44-23 win over Eads three weeks ago, with Abrielle Gomez leading all players with 15 points. Lexi Shotton had seven for Eads.
Points are generally at a premium when Kit Carson and Cheyenne Wells hook up, and that was again the case in the quarters. The #3 Lady Wildcats overcame a 7-2 first quarter deficit and eked out a 26-22 victory over #6 Cheyenne Wells. Kit Carson will get a second crack at #2 Granada, who outlasted Wiley 43-39. The Lady Bobcats took a 50-41 win over Kit Carson a month ago, thanks in large part to a 17-9 fourth quarter. Kiana Herrera led a very balanced attack for Granada with 13 points, while Tess Johnson and Torrie Randel each had 10 for the Lady Wildcats.
DISTRICT 4 (NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE)
With only five teams in the tournament, the top three seeds all received byes into the semifinals. That leaves a play-in quarterfinal between #4 Longmont Christian and #5 Weldon Valley, with the winner advancing to face #1 Briggsdale in the semis. Both teams sit in the 40s of the Seeding Index, so regionals are not likely, barring a shocking run to a tournament title.
Longmont Christian struggled through most of the season, as the team lost their first 15 games. During that stretch, they were held to single digits five times, and only topped 25 once. Longmont Christian won two of their last four to move just ahead of Weldon Valley for the four seed. Weldon Valley lost its last eight games, and scoring was an issue. In that streak, they were held to fewer than 25 points six times.
DISTRICT 6 (DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL)
Blow-outs were the norm in the three quarterfinals in District 6, with all three being decided by at least 30 points. Fourth-seeded Creede earned the right to challenge #1 Sangre de Cristo in the semifinals after taking a 55-25 win over #5 Lake City on Tuesday. The Lady Miners will be looking to find some magic against the Lady Thunderbirds, who own wins of 72-9 and 54-18 this season over them. Peyton Metz had 16 points and 11 steals for Sangre in the latter of those two victories. The Lady Thunderbirds had a bye in the quarterfinals.
The bottom half of the bracket saw #2 Sierra Grande cruise past #7 Moffat 61-26, using a 16-2 first quarter to gain the early momentum. The Lady Panthers will square off against #3 Centennial, who put the game away against Antonito with a 26-7 second quarter. The Lady Rams went on to take a 68-38 win. Xiomara Maestas went over the 1000 career point mark in the victory. She had 20 in a 51-47 loss to Sierra Grande two weeks back. Mariana Loya posted 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Lady Panthers in that contest.
MileHigh Prep Report 