CHSAANow

Category: Boys Basketball

  • Denver East back in No. 1 spot in 5A boys basketball ranking

    Denver East Cherokee Trail boys basketball
    Denver East is back in 5A’s No. 1 spot this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

    Denver East is back on top of CHSAANow.com’s 5A boys basketball ranking. The Angels overtook Fossil Ridge by one overall point to reclaim their spot.

    Fossil Ridge, which remained unbeaten by going 2-0 last week, had a one-week stay atop the poll. Denver East got 11 first-place votes to Fossil Ridge’s nine.

    Denver East beat Denver North 94-31 in its lone game last week.

    Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo glides toward the basket for an uncontested layup Monday in the Eagles' 62-55 victory over Highlands Ranch. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Dakota Ridge joined this week’s 5A boys basketball ranking. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Regis Jesuit remained in the No. 3 spot and Cherry Creek in No. 4. Eaglecrest bumped up one place to round up the top 5.

    Mountain Vista moved up two places to sit in sixth this week. Arapahoe is No. 7 and Overland fell three spots to No. 8.

    Dakota Ridge is the lone newcomer to this week’s 5A ranking. The Eagles (9-2) have won eight of nine games, and are No. 9 this week.

    Monarch fell one place to No. 10.

    The poll’s other No. 1 teams — Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A) — all stayed the same, as they have since the preseason.

    The 3A ranking added Centauri (No. 9) and Bishop Machebeuf (No. 10), while 1A added Briggsdale (No. 10).

    There were no newcomers in either the 4A or 2A polls. However, Pueblo South made a big jump in 4A, going from seventh to fourth.

    Complete polls for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

    Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Denver East (11) 11-3 188 2 1-0
    2 Fossil Ridge (9) 12-0 187 1 2-0
    3 Regis Jesuit 12-1 163 3 2-0
    4 Cherry Creek 11-2 131 4 2-0
    5 Eaglecrest 10-3 104 6 2-0
    6 Mountain Vista 12-1 95 8 2-0
    7 Arapahoe 9-2 77 7 1-1
    8 Overland 9-4 57 5 1-1
    9 Dakota Ridge 9-2 34 – 2-0
    10 Monarch 10-2 29 9 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Grandview 11, Highlands Ranch 7, Grand Junction 5, Rangeview 4, Legend 3, Chatfield 2, ThunderRidge 2, Smoky Hill 1.
    Dropped out
    Grandview (10).

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Valor Christian (14) 13-3 149 1 3-0
    2 Thompson Valley 11-1 121 2 2-0
    3 Sand Creek (1) 10-1 102 3 2-0
    4 Pueblo South 11-2 93 7 3-0
    5 D’Evelyn 9-2 86 4 2-0
    6 Thomas Jefferson 9-4 79 6 2-1
    7 Pueblo East 11-3 66 9 2-0
    8 Denver South 9-6 38 10 1-1
    9 Air Academy 10-3 37 5 1-1
    10 Longmont 10-2 32 8 2-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Golden 11, Cheyenne Mountain 7, Glenwood Springs 2, Montrose 1, Pueblo Central 1.
    Dropped out
    None.

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (13) 12-0 130 1 2-0
    2 Colorado Academy 10-0 107 2 2-0
    3 Jefferson Academy 10-1 102 3 0-1
    4 Faith Christian 7-4 79 4 0-1
    5 Colorado Springs Christian 5-3 56 5 2-0
    6 Brush 6-4 47 9 2-0
    7 Aspen 7-2 42 8 2-0
    8 The Pinnacle 6-2 41 7 1-0
    9 Centauri 9-3 38 – 2-0
    10 Bishop Machebeuf 6-3 30 – 1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Moffat County 16, Classical Academy 9, Kent Denver 8, Denver Science & Tech 6, Alamosa 2, Monte Vista 1, St. Mary’s 1.
    Dropped out
    Kent Denver (6), Moffat County (10).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Ignacio (8) 9-0 138 1 1-0
    2 Sanford (1) 9-1 128 2 2-0
    3 Yuma (2) 8-1 113 3 2-0
    4 Lutheran (4) 5-4 100 4 1-1
    5 Akron 7-1 82 5 2-0
    6 Resurrection Christian 9-2 74 6 1-0
    7 Haxtun 8-1 40 9 2-0
    8 Simla 8-1 37 8 2-0
    9 Peyton 8-2 36 10 2-0
    10 Rye 9-2 29 7 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Denver Christian 13, Front Range Christian 8, Holyoke 8, Sedgwick County 6, Crowley County 5, Swink 4, Custer County 2, Hotchkiss 1, Telluride 1.
    Dropped out
    None.

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Caliche (9) 9-0 90 1 2-0
    2 McClave 8-1 74 3 1-0
    3 Hi-Plains 8-1 73 2 2-0
    4 Vail Christian 6-1 59 4 1-0
    5 Holly 7-3 48 5 2-1
    6 Shining Mountain 9-2 38 7 2-1
    7 Norwood 6-2 35 8 1-0
    8 Cheyenne Wells 7-2 29 6 1-1
    9 Cheraw 5-2 18 9 1-1
    10 Briggsdale 4-2 11 – 1-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Primero 7, South Baca 7, Arickaree 6.
    Dropped out
    Primero (10).

  • Top-10 boys basketball schedule for the week of Jan. 20

    A complete schedule and scoreboard for boys basketball’s top-10 teams this week.

    Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A
    [divider]

    Class 5A
    1 Denver East 12-3
    Fri: W 91-62 vs. (4A 6) Thomas Jefferson
    2 Fossil Ridge 15-0
    Tues: W 97-41 at Fairview
    Thurs: W 74-28 vs. Legacy
    Fri: W 69-44 at Horizon
    3 Regis Jesuit 13-2
    Tues: W 69-40 vs. Littleton
    Fri: L 48-63 vs. Chaparral
    4 Cherry Creek 11-4
    Wed: L 45-52 at Smoky Hill
    Fri: L 41-50 at (8) Overland
    5 Eaglecrest 12-3
    Tues: W 62-43 at Cherokee Trail
    Fri: W 80-57 vs. Smoky Hill
    6 Mountain Vista 14-1
    Tues: W 86-65 vs. Rock Canyon
    Fri: W 80-49 vs. Littleton
    7 Arapahoe 10-3
    Wed: L 55-57 at Mullen
    Fri: W 61-57 vs. Grandview
    8 Overland 10-5
    Wed: L 73-76 at Grandview
    Fri: W 50-41 vs. (4) Cherry Creek
    9 Dakota Ridge 10-4
    Tues: L 62-66 at Ralston Valley
    Thurs: L 42-55 vs. Lakewood
    Sat: W 62-44 at Pomona
    10 Monarch 13-2
    Tues: W 66-39 at Poudre
    Thurs: W 61-45 vs. Greeley West
    Fri: W 46-44 at Fort Collins

    Class 4A
    1 Valor Christian 13-3
    Off this week.
    2 Thompson Valley 14-1
    Tues: W 82-60 at Silver Creek
    Fri: W 61-51 vs. (10) Longmont
    Sat: W 56-47 at Cheyenne Mountain
    3 Sand Creek 11-2
    Tues: W 49-46 at Discovery Canyon
    Fri: L 63-67 vs. Falcon
    4 Pueblo South 13-2
    Fri: W 63-54 at Pueblo Central
    Sat: W 80-64 vs. Elizabeth
    5 D’Evelyn 11-2
    Wed: W 76-69 vs. Wheat Ridge
    Fri: W 97-45 vs. Arvada
    6 Thomas Jefferson 10-5
    Wed: W 85-40 vs. Manual
    Fri: L 62-91 at (5A 1) Denver East
    7 Pueblo East 12-3
    Fri: W 67-65 at Canon City
    8 Denver South 10-7
    Wed: W 97-44 vs. Adams City
    Fri: L 69-70 at Denver West
    9 Air Academy 12-3
    Tues: W 60-40 vs. Lewis-Palmer
    Fri: W 78-36 vs. Discovery Canyon
    10 Longmont 11-3
    Tues: W 71-33 at Mountain View
    Fri: L 51-61 at (2) Thompson Valley

    Class 3A
    1 Holy Family 13-0
    Fri: W 66-35 vs. Peak to Peak
    2 Colorado Academy 11-0
    Tues: W 73-55 at Peak to Peak
    3 Jefferson Academy 12-2
    Tues: L 48-65 at (2A 4) Lutheran
    Fri: W 70-30 at Manual
    Sat: W 56-48 at Northridge
    4 Faith Christian 9-4
    Tues: W 57-49 at (10) Bishop Machebeuf
    Fri: W 57-50 vs. Kent Denver
    5 Colorado Springs Christian 6-3
    Fri: W 86-33 at Florence
    6 Brush 8-4
    Tues: W 65-53 vs. Fort Morgan
    Fri: W 58-32 at Valley
    7 Aspen 8-2
    Fri: W 45-28 vs. Gunnison
    8 The Pinnacle 8-2
    Tues: W 73-30 vs. Lake County
    Fri: W 86-68 vs. The Academy
    9 Centauri 10-4
    Fri: L 39-52 vs. Monte Vista
    Sat: W 71-34 vs. Dolores
    10 Bishop Machebeuf 6-5
    Tues: L 49-57 vs. (4) Faith Christian
    Fri: L 58-60 vs. (2A 4) Lutheran

    Class 2A
    1 Ignacio 11-0
    Tues: W 59-38 at Pagosa Springs
    Sat: W 55-31 at Ridgway
    2 Sanford 10-1
    Thurs: W 60-23 at Crested Butte
    Sat: vs. Del Norte
    3 Yuma 10-2
    Tues: W 63-57 vs. Holyoke
    Fri: W 66-45 vs. Merino
    Sat: L 50-60 at (5) Akron
    4 Lutheran 7-4
    Tues: W 65-48 vs. (3A 3) Jefferson Academy
    Fri: W 60-58 at (3A 10) Bishop Machebeuf
    5 Akron 9-1
    Fri: W 85-62 at (7) Haxtun
    Sat: W 60-50 vs. (3) Yuma
    6 Resurrection Christian 11-2
    Tues: W 80-47 vs. Heritage Christian
    Fri: W 75-41 at Denver Academy
    7 Haxtun 8-2
    Fri: L 62-85 vs. (5) Akron
    8 Simla 8-2
    Wed: L 47-48 vs. (9) Peyton
    9 Peyton 10-2
    Wed: W 48-47 at (8) Simla
    Thurs: W 61-51 vs. Kiowa
    10 Rye 10-2
    Fri: W 49-45 at Rocky Ford

    Class 1A
    1 Caliche 11-0
    Fri: W 70-44 at Fleming
    Sat: W 61-31 vs. (10) Briggsdale
    2 McClave 10-2
    Tues: W 77-33 at Manzanola
    Fri: L 32-34 vs. Kit Carson
    Sat: W 63-51 at Springfield
    3 Hi-Plains 10-1
    Tues: W 64-43 vs. Stratton
    Sat: W 70-47 at Arickaree
    4 Vail Christian 8-1
    Wed: W 83-78 at Soroco
    Fri: W 58-49 vs. Hayden
    Sat: vs. Sargent
    5 Holly 9-3
    Fri: W 51-44 vs. Walsh
    Sat: W 47-38 at Kit Carson
    6 Shining Mountain 9-3
    Tues: L 66-67 vs. Jim Elliot Christian
    7 Norwood 6-4
    Fri: L 46-71 at Telluride
    Sat: L 34-35 at Dove Creek
    8 Cheyenne Wells 9-2
    Tues: vs. Wallace County (Kan.)
    Fri: W 63-40 at Eads
    Sat: W 59-38 at Genoa-Hugo
    9 Cheraw 6-3
    Fri: L 51-53 at Wiley
    Sat: W 60-34 vs. Edison
    10 Briggsdale 6-3
    Tues: W 67-46 vs. Pawnee
    Fri: W 43-34 vs. Prairie
    Sat: L 31-61 vs. (1) Caliche

  • Photo gallery: No. 1 Valor Christian boys basketball rolls past Pueblo West

    HIGHLANDS RANCH — Top-ranked Valor Christian had five players in double figures as the Eagles cruised to a 95-51 win over Pueblo West.

    Valor was led by Chase Foster’s 19 points. Paden Mueller added 15, Garrett Baggett had 13, while Keegan Wynja and Khameron Davis each had 10.

  • Photo gallery: Erie boys basketball upsets No. 8 Longmont

    ERIE — The Erie Tigers boys basketball team pulled the upset over eighth-ranked Longmont in a 56-51 win on Saturday. Kyle Leahy had 17 points, while Dylan Brink added 14.

    Longmont sophomore Justinian Jessup had 23 points in the loss.

  • Fairview boys basketball wins OT thriller over streaking Monarch

    Fairview's Gabe Tierney takes a contested shot on Friday night. (Jordan Morey)
    Fairview’s Gabe Tierney takes a contested shot on Friday night. (Jordan Morey)

    BOULDER — After missing two crucial free throws that would have put his team ahead towards the end of regulation, Chris Arehart sunk eight-straight baskets from the charity stripe to get the win in overtime.

    “I was really mad I missed those two,” Arehart said. “I reset my mind, and didn’t miss again.”

    Arehart scored a career-high 17 points as Fairview outlasted No. 9 Monarch in a 68-64 overtime thriller on Friday. Fairview now sits in third place in the 5A Front Range with a league record of 3-1.

    Monarch led Fairview in each of the first three quarters. In the fourth, trailing 46-42, Fairview outscored Monarch 11-7 to extend the game into another four minutes of overtime. Fairview scored the first basket, and put up a lot of quick points, but Monarch wouldn’t go away. Jay MacIntyre, of Monarch, had nine points in overtime — including an NBA-range 3-point shot. However, Monarch would only finish with 11 to Fairview’s 15 points in overtime.

    Fairview senior captain Gabe Tierney, who has averaged 16.6 points this season, recorded 22 points against Monarch. After scoring 15 points in the first half, Monarch held Tierney to zero in the third. He picked his game back up by nailing a 3 and getting a two-point field goal to drop in the fourth, and then got another one to drop in extra minutes.

    “Everyone on the team heard each other,” Tierney said. “Even when we missed two free throws or a big shot, our team kept each other up. That was huge for me. Going into overtime we knew we could win.”

    Last season, Monarch and Fairview split the season series 1-1 on the road.

    “It’s turned into a healthy rivalry,” Fairview coach Frank Lee said. “We have a lot of respect for their team, and their kids. They’re a real good ball club, and we think we’re not far off from that.”

    Coming into Friday’s game, Monarch had won nine-straight games before facing Fairview. The two teams will meet again on the final game of the regular season on Feb. 22.

    “There is a lot of ground to cover between now and then,” Lee said. “We have to play Boulder (Saturday) and (top-ranked) Fossil Ridge next week. We will cross (Monarch) when we get there. Until then, we will take it one game at a time.”

  • Photo gallery: Egan leads Mountain Range boys basketball over Legacy

    BROOMFIELD — Ben Egan had 15 points, Tyler Sullivan added 12 and Mountain Range boys basketball beat Legacy 53-49 on Friday. Egan also had six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

  • A-West boys hoops rebounds with strong effort against Columbine

    Columbine Arvada West boys basketball
    Arvada West junior Thomas Neff, far right, drive on a trio of Columbine defenders (from left to right) Michael Tait, Dan DeGraaf and Brandon Wilson during the first half Thursday at Arvada West High School. Neff scored 20 points in the first half to help lead the Wildcats to a 68-39 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

    ARVADA — Senior Jacob Gillan did his best impersonation of Arvada West teammate Thomas Neff.

    Gillan hadn’t scored in double-figure points in a boys basketball game yet this season. He turned into a scoring machine Thursday night in the Wildcats’ resounding 68-39 home victory over Class 5A Jeffco League rival Columbine. Gillan poured in a season-high 21 points, all of which came in the first three quarters.

    Columbine Arvada West boys basketball
    Arvada West junior Dhillon Greene (0) tries to drive on Columbine junior Keaton Matthies (24) during the Wildcats’ Class 5A Jeffco League victory Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)

    “I was feeling pretty good in warmups and Thomas (Neff) was helping me to get me the ball,” said Gillan, who buried three 3-pointers in the first half to help A-West build a 36-17 lead. “We talked about it all day that we wanted to come out strong and not give Columbine a chance to stay with us.”

    Neff, A-West’s leading scorer at just over 20 points per game, wasn’t shabby. The junior had 20 points at halftime, and finished with a game-high 22 points.

    “(Gillan) did really well. I was glad to see someone else step up and contribute a lot,” Neff said. “It was a group effort. We played really well tonight.”

    The victory was big for the Wildcats. A-West (8-4, 4-1 in league) dropped its first conference game of the season Tuesday with a 44-42 loss to Dakota Ridge. The Wildcats were outscored 17-2 in the fourth quarter on their home court.

    “You are always concerned with what happened and how they respond,” A-West coach Jeff Parriott said. “The team showed up.”

    Parriott praised Gillan’s performance. The A-West crowd gave Gillan a nice round of applause when he took a seat on the bench early in the fourth quarter.

    “(Gillan) has the ability to do that every night,” Parriott said. “I think he is playing with a little more confidence. He played terrific and gave us a really good boost at the start of the game.”

    A-West had a strong shooting night, making 11 3-pointers from six different players. Junior’s Dhillon Greene and Jesse Porter made two each from beyond the arc. Seniors Austin Best and Dylan Vela drained one each in the final quarter.

    Columbine Arvada West boys basketball
    Arvada West sophomore Luke Neff (5) looks for an open teammate would being covered by Columbine junior Tucker Holden. Columbine coach Clay Thielking, pictured far left, hopes the Rebels will learn from their 68-39 loss Thursday against the Wildcats (Dennis Pleuss)

    “(A-West) shot it well. Give them a lot of credit,” Columbine coach Clay Thielking said after the Rebels’ two-game winning streak came to an end. “They outplayed us. They out-hustled us. They out-coached us. It was just one of those nights and it snowballed in a hurry.”

    Columbine senior Brandon Wilson (14 points) was the only Rebel in double figures.

    “You’ve got to learn from it. We can’t ignore it,” Thielking said. “We have to learn from it and get back at it tomorrow. Try to turn it into a positive.”

    Columbine’s overall sub-.500 record of 5-8, 3-3 in league is a little deceiving. The Rebels had a brutal non-league schedule that included four losses to teams currently ranked in CHSAANow.com hoops poll — Regis (No. 3), Mountain Vista (No. 8), Grandview (No. 10) and Valor Christian (No. 1 in 4A).

    The Rebels will continue on the road next week with games at Bear Creek (Jan. 20) and Chatfield (Jan. 22). Both game are scheduled for 7 p.m. tips.

    A-West has a 7 p.m. tilt Saturday at rival Pomona before getting its first shot at defending 5A Jeffco League champion Chatfield. The Chargers will host the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Jan. 21.

    “We like the position we are at,” Gillan said. “We think we are in a good one to win league.”

    Columbine Arvada West boys basketball
    Arvada West junior Thomas Neff (15) elevates for a jumper over Columbine senior Tristan Storm (10) on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)

  • Thomas Jefferson snaps Denver South’s winning streak in top-10 boys hoops battle

    (Jordan Morey)
    Thomas Jefferson huddles during a timeout. More photos. (Jordan Morey)

    DENVER — Treyvon Andres of Thomas Jefferson swatted six blocks on the leading rebounder in Colorado.

    “My plan was to not let him get that many offensive rebounds,” Martin said. “That’s where he gets a lot of his points.”

    Andres recorded 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals as No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (8-4) won at No. 10 Denver South (8-6), 59-57 on Wednesday.

    Denver South Thomas Jefferson boys basketball
    Thomas Jefferson’s Treyvon Andres. More photos. (Mark Adams)

    The first three quarters played tight between the two teams as they exchanged leads. Going into the fourth quarter, Denver South led 47-45 after scoring 21 points in the third. Thomas Jefferson played stellar defense, allowing a game-low 10 points, in the final minutes as they took the win.

    With seven seconds left in the game, Andres got thrown to the ground — an obvious flagrant foul — on a fastbreak. He nailed 1-of-2 free throws to give his team a two-point lead.

    “It was a really hard foul — I just had to get through it,” Andres said. “It was a big free throw. I’m just glad enough I could make one.”

    Thomas Jefferson, a 4A school, had lost three-straight games, all to 5A teams — Highlands Ranch, Aurora Central and Rock Canyon — before Wednesday. They lost by a combined total of 15 points over the streak, including a 60-59 loss to Highlands Ranch on Jan. 8.

    “We’ve been grinding and grinding but losing a bunch of close ones,” coach Grant Laman said. “No one wanted to look at each other with four losses in a row.”

    Denver South, on the flip side, had won six-straight games before hosting Thomas Jefferson. Senior Ibrahim Sylla has the most rebounds of anyone in Colorado, averaging 13.3. He scored 19 points and grabbed 19 boards in the loss. His vertical-jumping abilities stunned the crowd by throwing down four monstrous dunks.

    “I don’t think you can shut (Sylla) down — he’s awesome,” Laman said. “We just wanted to limit him the best we could. We told Trayevon, ‘You’ve got him all night, you can play huge in the middle.’ That’s two college basketball players going at it, and the state should smile when those things happen.”

    Next up, Thomas Jefferson travels to Lincoln on Jan. 17. Last season, Thomas Jefferson beat Lincoln 75-64 behind 22 points from Andres. Thomas Jefferson is 3-5 against Lincoln all-time.

    “I don’t know how I’m going to prepare for (Lincoln) yet,” Laman said. “We had a game Monday, and we just won so I haven’t thought about them yet. They’re really good — we will figure something out.”

    Denver South Thomas Jefferson boys basketball
    Treyvon Andres sinks a free-throw in the game’s final moments. More photos. (Mark Adams)

  • Photo gallery: Thomas Jefferson boys basketball beats Denver South

    DENVER — Thomas Jefferson beat Denver South boys basketball 59-57 in a top-10 showdown on Wednesday.

  • Photo gallery: Cherokee Trail boys basketball upsets No. 10 Grandview

    AURORA — David Thornton had 22 points and nine rebounds as Cherokee Trail knocked off No. 10 Grandview 72-67 on Wednesday night.

    Ronnie Barfield added 12 points and five rebounds, while Tyler Larkin scored 10 points.

    KyRon Allen had 21 points in the loss for Grandview.