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Ball Fever: Boys basketball’s depth on display as league play begins

Dakota Ridge Chatfield boys basketball fans

(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

The year started red hot with some ranking shake-ups and outstanding performances. Now that we ease into league play Rangeview has staked strong claim as the clear Class 5A No. 1 and we’ll see if Longmont slides after losing to a solid 5A Far Northeast (Montbello) for their first loss of the season.

Let’s check out how it all played out!

Week in review

Monday, Jan. 11:

  • Top-10 match up on Monday as a streaking Chatfield squad visited Denver East and Dan Morhman’s all over it.
  • Elijah Coleman is part of the stellar Aurora Central back court and he dropped 25 points on Bear Creek in the Trojans win to start the week.
  • Ball Fever stats “dig”: Isaac Essien was stat-stuffin for Mountain Vista as the FNE Warriors visited Mountain Vista: 18 points, 10 assist, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals to help the Golden Eagles get the 53-50 win.
  • Breon Harper and Xavier Cooper team up to both score 19 points as Thomas Jefferson pulled away from Westminster by 7.

Tuesday, Jan. 12:

Rangeview Regis Jesuit boys basketball

In the biggest matchup of the week, No. 1 Rangeview beat No. 3 Regis Jesuit on Tuesday. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

  • No. 5 ThunderRidge had four players in double figures led by Stetson-bound Clay Verk’s 18 as they coasted over Pine Creek.
  • How about two of Pueblo’s top high school teams filling the CSU-Pueblo gym with over 2,000 folks! Dan Mohrmann’s the man on the spot.
  • Look for Fossil Ridge to get some top-10 votes this week and they helped their cause with Jackson Everhart scoring 24 points in the close 3-point win over Legacy.
  • Justinian Jessup and Kevin Mitchell both score 15 points as No. 1 Longmont takes down Niwot.
  • Doherty is staking claim early on the top spot in CO Springs 5A hoops and Josh Watt has your photos as they take down Rampart.
  • Pueblo West holding steady at No. 6 in 4A got 25 points from Kenneth Tack thrashing their rival Pueblo East.
  • Brock Laue covered the top-5 match up with new No. 1 Rangeview visiting Regis Jesuit and he was impressed with the Raiders “depth and DE-FENSE.”
  • Lots of talented youth being served in George Washington visiting Chaparral and soph Daylen Kountz led the Patriots to the win scoring 16 points. The senior leader for Chaparral Dominic Coleman led all scorers with 17.
  • Ponderosa, as a 4A in that tough Continental league, will need all hands on deck and they had 12 players in the scoring column as they put up 98 vs. JFK.
  • Mead, sitting at No. 8 in our 4A poll, won by 30 points over Erie led by Walker Korrell’s 19 points.

Wednesday, Jan. 13:

  • Dan Mohrmann on it again as Palmer Ridge gets over the hump vs. Air Academy.
  • Every night is important in the Centennial league and Matt Matthewes saw No. 10 Cherokee Trail hold on vs. Grandview.
  • Jack Eberhard has the action shots as Cherry Creek cruises vs. Mullen.
  • De’Ron Davis, who Brock Laue covered this week, and Jervae Robinson both scored in double figures as No. 3 Overland beat Smoky Hill by 19.
  • Denver East leaned on its senior leaders again and Daytone Jennings led three in double figures with 20 points as the Angels earned a solid road win by 19 at Highlands Ranch.
  • Quite an effort from Arapahoe holding one of our state’s top scorers, Colbey Ross, to single digits when Eaglecrest came to visit. However, another Raptor — sophomore Victor Garnes — stepped up with 12 and helped Eaglecrest pull off the tight 2-point victory.
  • Chatfield, new to the 5A top-10, didn’t let Antonio Capley’s 19 points stop them from beating Ralston Valley in a low scoring 42-38 tilt.
  • Had to do a little Ball Fever “dig” on this Noah Saunders young man we’ve been hearing a lot about from Falcon. He didn’t let us down with a 27-point, 13-rebound double-double but it wasn’t quite enough as they came up short by 2 to Lewis Palmer due to a 17-8 fourth quarter advantage for the Rangers.
  • Cole Harris with 20 points as Golden continues hot streak with league win over D’Evelyn.

Thursday, Jan. 14:

  • Hinkley made a rare visit to Thomas Jefferson and the 4A Spartans one this one big with Ravel Moody scoring 15 points in the balanced win.
  • Prairie View used a 30-17 fourth quarter advantage to make a comeback on visiting Fruita Monument. Spencer Wilson’s 20 and Trey Marble’s 17 helped get it done!
  • Denver South, at No. 7 in our poll, hosted Mesa Ridge and kept the score keeper busy in 92-86 win behind Chudier Bile’s 25 point, 12 rebound double-double.
  • There goes that “stat-stuffin” CJ Jennings for Sierra again in win over Mitchell: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block!

Friday, Jan. 15:

Dakota Ridge Chatfield boys basketball

Chatfield beat Dakota Ridge on Friday. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

  • Chatfield gets a solid 71-57 win over rival Dakota Ridge in league play and Matt Matthewes was on the scene.
  • We continue to talk about this Doherty squad which continues to prove its the boss of CO Springs with 64-36 win over FFC! Dalven Brushier and Brevin Brimble both with 16.
  • Rock Canyon, No. 8 last week, didn’t allow Douglas County to score more than 10 points in ANY quarter shutting them down 54-28 with Sam Masten scoring 18.
  • Jack Eberhard caught Marc Reininger’s double-double as Regis bounced back vs. Castle View.
  • Last week we called Eaglecrest/Creek the best Centennial match of the night and the back and forth battle which the Raptors eventually won by 4 looked good. Raptors had 10 players contribute in scoring led by Colbey Ross’ 19.
  • Monarch remains undefeated in league play with 10-point win over Rocky Mountain.
  • No. 1 Rangeview can run you out the gym but GW won the first stage 18-15 and made the Raiders earn the 72-65 win. Double digit performers all over this one led by Tyrei Randall’s 23.
  • We voted Holy Family into the 4A top-10 and they proved their worth beating No. 8 Mead 54-47. Cameron Miller 9 points, 7 rebounds in the “workman like” win.
  • Two top players down south D’Shawn Schwartz (27 points) and Noah Saunders 20 point, 15 rebound double-double gave folks a treat in Sand Creek’s 57-52 win over Falcon.
  • 4A top-10 match up but Valor won by 19 over Evergreen with Jalen Sanders scoring 22 points for the Eagles.
  • Vista Peak got wins over Englewood and Elizabeth this week. They are deserving of some 4A top-10 consideration! Te’Rae Johnson’s 25 points helped get it done over Elizabeth.

Saturday, Jan. 16:

  • No. 3 Regis’ balance on display with four players in double figures in win over Mullen.
  • Furious fourth quarter comeback by Highlands Ranch but they come up short in overtime vs. Grandview as Lechaun Duhart scored 27 alongside Gage Prim’s 23 point, 13 rebound double-double.
  • No. 1 Longmont suffered its first loss of the season 61-55 to the FNE (Montbello) Warriors, who are up-and-coming in 5A. Senior Sekou Cisse was all over the court for the Warriors scoring 15 points, with 7 rebounds. We don’t expect Longmont to fall far in the 4A rankings after this tough road loss but watch for Montbello to rise in 5A.
  • Strong man Dalven Brushier scores 20 as Doherty gets another 20-point win. This time Heritage was the victim.
  • Thomas Jefferson made a heck of a fourth-quarter run, powered by Ravel Moody’s 30-point performance, but Denver South has cemented itself as a 4A contender with the 65-63 home win.
  • Lewis-Palmer, 4A No. 3, closed out the week with a 17 point over Liberty. Rangers 11-1 overall now.

A look ahead to this week’s top games:

Eaglecrest Overland boys basketball

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)


Monday, Jan. 18:

  • Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Make it a day of service if you can….

Tuesday, Jan. 19:

  • Our pick for Continental league this night is Rock Canyon visiting Heritage. Can the Eagles hold court?
  • Monarch at Fort Collins is a good one.
  • Regis Jesuit at FNE (Montbello) Warriors has renewed interest after the Warriors beat Longmont.
  • Aurora Central gets it shot at the title visiting No. 1 Rangeview!
  • Thompson Valley at Longmont.

Wednesday, Jan. 20:

  • Cherry Creek at Overland and Eaglecrest at Cherokee Trail lookin’ good in Centennial!
  • Pueblo South could be 4A No. 1 and visiting Liberty.
  • Chatfield at Arvada West.
  • Cheyenne Mountain at Sand Creek.
  • Evergreen at Golden.
  • Valor at Conifer.

Thursday, Jan. 21:

  • Coronado at Doherty.
  • Rampart at Lakewood.
  • No. 1 Rangeview invades Northglenn.

Friday, Jan. 22:

  • Overland at Cherokee Trail is your Centennial tilt of the night!
  • Legend has fallen off the radar but can bounce back at Regis.
  • Lakewood at Arvada West.
  • Denver South at Thomas Jefferson? That’s a quick rematch from last week…
  • Lewis-Palmer at Air Academy.
  • Golden at Wheat Ridge.
  • Greeley Central at Longmont.

Saturday, Jan. 23:

  • Fossil Ridge at Mountain Vista: Track Meet!
  • Golden at Fort Collins is a nice one!
  • Lewis-Palmer at Elizabeth.
  • Awwww…there it is! Our first Thunderdome match: FNE (Montbello) and GW get it on!

We are in the heart of our league play folks! Get out and enjoy.