CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL REPORT – WEEK SEVEN
BY: KERRY SHERMAN
With the regular season starting into the final turn before heading down the home stretch, a number of storylines have emerged. Those are the focus of this week’s report.
Four teams have hit this point in the season with just one blemish, including both of last year’s finalists. Denver Jewish Day (7-1) and Belleview Christian (11-1) lead the way in the 5280. They won’t meet until the end of the regular season.
Belleview Christian has two of the top seven scorers in the classification, with Garrett Owen averaging 22.5 a game and Brandon Ewing scoring 19.4 a night. The Bruins are one of two teams to have double digit wins so far, with Arickaree (10-1) joining them. Both have some key games coming up, but will be heavily favored in the games leading up to those.
The Bruins survived a tough test earlier this week, as they beat Front Range Baptist (5-3) by a dozen on Tuesday. A road game at 2A Dawson School (3-5) on Thursday is one of two left before a big showdown with Flatirons Academy (5-4) that opens February. Arickaree has a pair of road contests in YWKC play, starting with Bethune (1-6) on Friday, and the Bison visit Lone Star (3-6) next Tuesday. Those lead up to a big clash with Idalia (6-3) next Friday. Lone Star and Idalia are both 2-0 in league play, and they meet Friday night. The Bison are 1-0.
Idalia also has a tough non-league tilt on Saturday, with Eads (7-2) making the trip north. Eads has won two straight since a loss to McClave (6-4) in the finals of the Lamar Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Eagles escaped Walsh (4-4) with a 57-56 victory two weeks ago. Porter Spady poured in 31 points in that win, one off his career high.
Eads can’t look ahead to that match-up with Idalia, as the Eagles have to visit Stratton (6-2) on Friday. Stratton bounced back from a disappointing 46-27 loss to Cheyenne Wells (7-2) last Thursday with lopsided wins over Fleming (3-6) and Hi-Plains (2-8), scoring at least 70 in both contests. Cyler Notter is on the hunt for his 1000th career point. At his current rate, that should happen in early February.
Speaking of that career milestone, Briggsdale’s Tanner Fiscus topped it early in the season. The Falcons’ senior leads the state in scoring at 28.2 points a game. Briggsdale (3-6) is 2-1 in the last three games, with the last being a blowout of Weldon Valley (1-9) in North Central play. If the Falcons are going to challenge Peetz (8-2) in the NCL, they need to string wins together, which they have not done this season. They visit 2A Wiggins (3-6) on Friday.
Peetz senior Noah Naegele has been red-hot during the current three-game winning streak, scoring 73 points during the span. That includes 24 in the three-point win over Arickaree last week, and a season-high 33 against Haxtun last Friday. The Bulldogs can seize control of the NCL with wins over Fleming and Prairie (5-5) over the next week.
Cheyenne Wells has put together a nice six-game winning streak and the Tigers have yet to lose to an in-state opponent. Corey Hill, a 6’8” sophomore, is averaging a double-double on the season, with 16 points and close to 14 rebounds a night. The Tigers host Cheraw (4-3) in a High Plains contest on Friday, and then travel to Genoa-Hugo (4-5) on Saturday.
Moffat (9-1) is looking to be the third team in the classification to reach 10 wins. The Cowboys have won four straight since an 11-point loss to Primero (4-5) in December. They share the Southern Peaks lead with Antonito (1-7). Moffat already owns a 74-25 win over the Trojans and they meet in a league contest on Saturday. Ziah Pesqueira matched his career-high with 31 points in the win.
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