Week 11, the last of the regular season, is off and running!
More high scoring individual performances — including a 30-point SECOND HALF — from Ronnie DeGray III (Chaparral) highlights the early action.
Let’s take a look at some of the other top moments:
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The Look Back
Monday, Feb. 12
Low scoring affair early and Longmont, No. 3 in our latest poll, eventually pulled away from Northridge by 23 with Beck Page scoring 13.
Trent Dykema remains on fire folks for Silver Creek scoring 29 of his teams 58 points on 11-15 from the field in the 8-point win over Mountain View.
Xavier Bonham scored 23 for Greeley Central but not enough as Thompson Valley only allowed 4 points in the second quarter on the way to a 64-55 win.
Speaking of defensive quarters, No. 5 GW shut Denver North out in the second leading to a 95- 36 route. Shawn’trelle White led with 20 points.
No. 4 Denver East also coasted to an 88-26 blasting of Denver West with Kountz/Marble combining for 41. This sets up the top 5 match up of East/GW on Saturday for the City Championship!
Nieyeme Smeyer-Williams is averaging 15 points per game and Pueblo West needed him to avenge that 1-point loss to Pueblo East earlier in the season. P-West made it clear this time around 74-60.
Joe Madsen and Adam Thistlewood hat that inside/outside punch going combining for 39 points in the 9-point win over Green Mountain.
Quite a fourth quarter for for Pomona who outscored Arvada West 26-14 to pull off the incredible comeback win on the road!
Top 10 4A action in Valor/Evergreen and jumping out to an 18-11 first quarter advantage helped the Cougars pull off the 4-point home win 62-58.
Our No. 1 4A squad, Pueblo South, just doesn’t want to cooperate with us on posting stats!! And how we would love to see how the top squad ran up 100 in running away from Pueblo Centennial by 53!
Silver Creek held Centaurus to only 5 points in the third quarter and that led to a 74-58 win for the 4A No. 8 squad.
Our state’s No. 1 squad simply ran away from Ponderosa early and often! ThunderRidge 71-34, setting up one of the biggest games of the year on Friday in 1 vs. 2 match up of T-Ridge and Rock Canyon!
No. 9 Smoky Hill may be hitting their stride at the right time and big man Will Becker had a “monsta” double-double of 18 points, 18 rebounds in the tough 2-point win over Eaglecrest.
Speaking of double-double performances, Sam Masten rang up 26 points and 10 rebounds in No. 2 Rock Canyon’s thumping of Castle View by 43! T-Ridge up next…
An 18-5 fourth quarter along with 15 points from Goy Wang helped No. 7 Overland secure the 20-point win over Mullen.
Lewis Palmer, 4A No. 2, raced out to a 24-5 first quarter advantage over Air Academy and never looked back with Joel Scott scoring 18 with 6 rebounds in the win.
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Midweek Thoughts
The phrase “wide open” has probably been used a lot in recent years, but the teams in our 5A top 10 truly have the ability to take any of the others down on a given night.
Will be fun to follow whose depth and leadership can get their squad over the hump as we approach the playoffs.
Our Crew doesn’t think 4A is as quite as wide open with Pueblo South and Lewis-Palmer looking like favorites as we near seasons end, but teams like Golden and Longmont can certainly step up and ruin us seeing that rematch late season.
Will be fun to see how it all plays out.
Enjoy the last few days of the regular season, folks!
Our end-of-season hoops is giving us “a bit of everything” as our mid-week column report covered, and the end-of-week action didn’t let us down either!
The Fever Crew also had a chance to catch up with one of our state’s top talents in a Saturday Ball Fever “chat” with Denver East’s Daylen Kountz.
Let’s get to it:
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The Look Back
Thursday, Feb. 8
Malik Fofaana and Myron Hamilton score 15 points each helping Montbello (FNE) earn the league win over foe Thomas Jefferson 66-56.
Joel Scott turned in a 24 point, 5 rebound effort and No. 2 Lewis Palmer shut down Discovery Canyon in the fourth quarter only allowing 8 points in the 11-point win.
Longmont likes to refer to their squad as “blue collar” and they grinded out a tough 4A top-10 win over No. 7 Silver Creek 49-37 and were able to hold scoring machine Trent Dykema to 11 points while junior Brady Renck scored 18 in the win.
Doherty, who was in at No. 10 in last week’s 5A poll, left no doubt in their battle vs. Rampart winning by 27 in the rivalry game. Senior Joe Golden scored 17 and junior added a “monsta” 16 point, 15 rebound double-double.
You can only play “who they put in front of ya” and No. 4 GW had no mercy on Denver West and Xavier Cooper led MANY Patriots in the scoring column with 17.
Huge night for No. 10 Widefield’s Tre Pierre with 26 points and 8 rebounds in the 10-point win over Harrison.
Game was tight early but Smoky Hill used a 26-8 fourth quarter push to shut down Arapahoe 71-47.
No. 3 Rock Canyon was licking their chops in anticipation of the neighborhood rivalry game vs. Highlands Ranch. Sam Masten and Tyson Gilbert both scored 18 points as the Jags gradually pulled away 56-38. The Ranch fans were tough on Gilbert when he visited his former school last year…Gilbert got the last laugh on this one!
Guards Sam Bannec and Elijah Martinez were both feeling and scored 17 points each in Regis’ rout of Ponderosa.
Brendan LaRose with a nice 19 point, 11 rebound double-double in No. 7 Falcon’s 9-point win over Air Academy.
Extra Hoops!! It took overtime and 17 points from senior Branden Bunn for Eaglecrest to pull off a 1-point victory over Cherry Creek.
It was a rivalry game for the “Pride of Parker” with Chap/Legend hooking up for their annual neighborhood battle. Umm, Ronnie DeGray III didn’t get the memo that these rivalry games are supposed to be close! DeGray was “stat-stuffin” once again with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals! Is the deep ball more your thing? Look no further than class of 2020 standout point guard Kobe Sanders, who lit the gym up with 7 three pointers (tied a school record) on his way to 25 points in the 82-61 win for the Wolverines.
There goes the teamwork and balanced style of the Grizzlies again! Five players in double figures led by Kaison Hammonds 16 points helped ThunderRidge erase a halftime deficit and ultimately beat Mountain Vista by 14. A strong week from the Grizz, who look to be voted No. 1 in this week’s poll.
Julian Lucero put up 14 points for Pueblo West but not enough as they went down big for the second time this season to No. 1 Pueblo South who is making it known they are king of Pueblo right now and have an eye on being crowned the champ of 4A in a month from now. How about a 13 game winning streak for the Colts?!!
Saturday, Feb. 10
(Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)
Always great to catch up with outstanding young men and our Fever Crew had a ‘lil’ Ball Fever “chat” with CU Buff Bound Daylen Kountz after his Angel’s win over Denver South Saturday.
Kountz is averaging 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals per game for the Angels, who were ranked 5 in last week’s poll.
Daylen scored 17 and pulled down 9 rebounds in the 20-point win over D-South which sets up a ThunderDome showdown Saturday vs. GW for the city title!
“Our team is getting better game by game,” said Kountz.
East has a game Monday and we didn’t want Kountz looking too far ahead, but he added, “The game against GW will be hard fought and I think it will come down to who does the little things down the stretch.”
Daylen is excited for his future as a Buff but is focused on finishing out his tenure as an Angel first: “I want our team to remain humble and just take it one game at a time heading into the playoffs.”
Always impressed with this young man’s calm demeanor and perspective on the game. Thanks for the “chat,” Daylen!
(Marcus Gipson/Jmariahimages.com)
Trent Dykema must not have been happy after Silver Creek’s loss to Longmont and promptly took it out on Niwot in a stellar 35 point, 5 rebound, 5 steal, 2 assist night in 30 point win!
Senior Luke Johnson with 23 points for streaking Longmont who drubbed Summit by 40…
Golden is a strong No. 4 in 4A right now and Adam Thistlewood shined again with a 29 point, 10 rebound double-double in the Demons 19-point win over Littleton.
Another 4A senior, Jeremy Randle, stepped up with 23 points for No. 6 Valor Christian in 10-point win over Wheatridge.
Demarious Carey led four Spartans in double figure scoring for No. 10 Doherty who poured it on Palmer down south.
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The Look Ahead
Monday, Feb. 12
Longmont is hot & faces Northridge.
Mountain View scouting report: Defend Dykema of Silver Creek!
GW tunes up for city title vs. North.
Denver East tunes up for city title vs. West.
Tuesday, Feb. 13
Pueblo East/Pueblo West rematch!
Holy Family & Mead always a battle.
Green Mountain tries to slow Golden.
Pomona/Arvada West, Jeffco…
Northglenn vs. Rangeview.
No. 1 Pueblo South vs. Pueblo Centennial.
Evergreen & Valor in 4A top 10 action!
Wednesday, Feb. 14
Cupid not invited when Longmont & Thompson Valley battle!
Centaurus vs. Silver Creek.
Rock Canyon vs. Castle View.
Grandview faces Creek in Centennial.
Regis & Chaparral, good Continental stuff…
Lewis-Palmer vs. Air Academy down south.
Smoky Hill & Eaglecrest “watch yo’ head”
ThunderRidge & Ponderosa closes our night!
Thursday, Feb. 15
Valor hosts Standley Lake.
Widefield looks to keep rollin vs. Canon City.
Bear Creek/Pomona, Jeffco!
4A Top-10: Golden & Evergreen…
Friday, Feb. 16
Regis closes vs. Heritage.
Falcon, Discovery Canyon southern action…
Overland & Arap.
Lots on the Line! Top 3 Match T-Ridge/Rock Canyon!
Smoky Hill vs. Creek…finish strong!
Lewis Palmer vs. Palmer Ridge.
Chap needs to take DougCo to league tie shot.
Doherty vs. Fountain Fort Carson.
Pueblo South looks to cont. the run vs. P. East.
Saturday, Feb. 17
City Title! GW & East get it on for all the marbles…
Longmont vs. Skyline.
Fort Collins in rare late non league vs. The Bellos (FNE)
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Well, well, well hoops fans! Our big school 5A/4A boys have treated us to quite a season and we know this final week won’t disappoint. Enjoy!
The early action gave us a bit of everything this week, hoop fans!
GW, who slid a bit early, is coming into form with a vengeance in the city … and Denver East is awaiting that annual showdown with them.
The Continental league gave us ANOTHER “packed house” 5A top 5 match-up and this time it was 1 vs. 2 for one of our best coach’s 400th victory.
If that wasn’t enough, how about 205 points combined last night for Pomona/Dakota Ridge. And that “Home & Away” Centennial Tough league preps battle tested squads.
4A? You get the feeling Pueblo South and Lewis-Palmer are “side eyeing” each other’s performances but Longmont and Golden have proven to be more than legit. Let’s get to it!
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The Look Back
Monday, Feb. 5
Widefield is now our 4A No. 10 and sophomore Randall Day’s 27 point, 6 rebound effort helped lift them to win over Woodland Park.
Lincoln was in need of a DPL win and soph TJ Bamba’s 16 points helped them earn that on the road at Montbello (FNE) 62-59.
Speaking of DPL, No. 4 GW ran away from Thomas Jefferson 81-43 behind senior Jon’il Fugett’s 19 points, 9 rebounds. Soph Darius Hornbuckle also scored 19 for the Spartans in the loss.
Elizabeth and Mesa Ridge both slid out of the 4A top 10 but didn’t stop the Cardinals from winning a tight 1-point victory with senior Garrett Hawkins leading four in double figure scoring with 14.
Longmont, up to No. 3 in our 4A poll, flexed it’s muscle on the road beating Greeley Central 62-35.
Trent Dykema was “stat-stuffin” again for No. 7 Silver Creek with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in the 4-point win over Thompson Valley. Check the video recap here.
Much tougher than Rock Canyon expected and they needed all of Sam Masten’s 25 to go along with Tyson Gilbert’s 18 to win in overtime vs. a game Legend squad.
DE-FENSE! No. 1 Pueblo South gets it down on both sides of the floor shutting down Pueblo County 64-22.
No. 5 Pueblo West was in a blowout mood as well racing away from Pueblo Centennial 78-45. Pierre Taylor led three in double figure scoring for the Cyclones with 17.
Liberty grabbed a couple top 10 votes and Rampart is anxious to prove they deserve some beating the Lancers by 1 in a tight game with Dawson Carper scoring 20 points along with Xavier Johnson’s 15.
Big game out west and senior Darren Davison scored 10 points and added 4 rebounds in Fruita Monument’s key league win over Grand Junction Central.
Senior Sam Nehme joined Matt Ragsdale and Joel Scott in double figure scoring this time for No. 2 Lewis-Palmer who started strong and never looked back beating Cheyenne Mountain by more than 20.
Wednesday, Feb. 7
The Fever Crew made it out to see the high-flying No. 9 Smoky Hill Buffaloes on their senior night where they seemed to almost allow Mullen to hang around early but then flexed their athletic muscle pulling away by double digits at the half and closing the game out 61-42. Missing PG Quentin Rock the Buffs showed they have the talent to play with anyone. Big men John Harge and Will Becker dominated the boards (and above the rim) while Kenny Foster played a lot of the distributor role. Fun to see the seniors celebrated and we’ll see if the talented Buffs have the depth for a late season run! Above the rim, senior night love here:
Special thanks to the families and our seniors tonight on their last home game as a Buffalo. It’s a very special group of players and families. THANKS! #hillPridepic.twitter.com/cMbxrcUgLW
Whoa! Senior TJ Davis scored 20 and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double and was 10-11 on 2-pt shots along the way in Widefield’s drubbing of Mitchell.
Terrific performances from Standley Lake’s Garrett Martin and Chris Bowerman who scored 29 and 25 points respectively but not enough to take down No. 4 Golden who won by 16.
Eaglecrest mad a late run but Grandview’s poise at home and late free throws helped secure the 58-49 always tough Centennial league win.
Falcon is up to No. 8 in 4A and let 5A Sand Creek know it! Falcon got defensive and held the Scorpions to single digits in two quarters on their way to the 19-point road win.
Ummm…yes! You read this right, folks! If the score keeper takes a day off, don’t blame em! Pomona outlasted Dakota Ridge in double overtime 104-101…”Pomona Principal” caught a bit of the OT action on Twitter
Back and forth the entire way No. 6 Valor Christian won by 4 over rival D’Evelyn.
In true Trailblazer fashion a different senior led the scoring charge tonight in the home league win over Cherokee Trail as Laulo Oke scored 15 for No. 6 Overland.
Columbine holds on for the 6 point win over Bear Creek in the home league win. They started the first quarter down by 6 but won by the same margin 67-61. Rebels hot in 5A Jeffco!
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Mid-Week Thoughts
Our Fever Crew has learned over the years that the more we think we know, the less we actually know and that’s why we love this game.
Yes, there are some favorites creeping to the top of 5A/4A ball but each week brings us a surprise.
“Wide open”? Yep, face it, it’s a fact that we have at least four teams in each classification have a legitimate shot at Denver Coliseum success and we have no doubt there will be a couple surprises along the way.
We predicted an exciting end to the week in our mid-week report on “brutal league play” but even our Fever Crew underestimated the electric atmosphere that surrounded the Continental league battle for the top spot between Chaparral and previously unbeaten Rock Canyon.
What game sells out at 3:30 p.m. for a 7:00 p.m. start time? Yes, the sign of our big school ball getting really good and student/community support on a high! Oh, it will get better come March.
Let’s see how the rest of the week played out:
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The Look Back
Thursday, Feb. 1
Malik Fofaana scored 16 for the Warriors but Montbello couldn’t stand up to Denver South’s team effort where everyone scored at least 6 points or more led by soph D. Carter’s 12…balanced Rebels!
Tylor Trinh kicked in 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in Monarch’s neighborly rivalry 5-point win over Boulder.
Vista Peak jumped out 10-5 in the first quarter and won by seven never relinquishing the lead vs. visiting Thornton.
Senior DeMarious Carey was “stat-stuffin” 26 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in hot Doherty’s win over Pine Creek.
Friday, Feb. 2
(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
Our digital media “guru”, Ryan Casey, was all over the most electric atmosphere of the year so far in No. 3 Chaparral hosting unbeaten No. 1 Rock Canyon. Even without one of their stars the Wolverines jumped on junior Ronnie DeGray III’s 27 point, 11 rebound effort to win big
The Fever Crew got out to Jeffco land where our guy Dennis Pleuss fully has his hand on the pulse! Valor visiting No. 3 Golden certainly didn’t disappoint and Adam Thistlewood’s crew stepped up while he faced a little foul trouble. Thistlewood is as good/smooth as advertised and really like Joe Madsen’s inside work as the Demon’s strong man. Skapich has a nice touch and solid ball control running the show for Valor. Good 4A ball!
CU Buff-bound Daylen Kountz came up one rebound short of a double-double scoring 23 points and pulling down 9 rebounds for Denver East who pulled away from DPL rival Lincoln by 27!
Quite a scoring fest for Silver Creek and Greeley Central who combined for 150 total points in the Raptors 10-point win. Trent Dykema again scored more than 20 points and was joined by Nick Eaton’s 21 in the win.
Looking for a “30 piece?” … senior Kaison Hammonds for one-loss 5A No. 2 ThunderRidge has it for you and he added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals “stat-stuffin” the Grizzlies to a 22-point road win at Highlands Ranch.
Regis got a late scare from Legend but Sam Bannec’s 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists helped the Raiders hold on for a tight 55-53 win.
Pierre Taylor’s 17 points and 70% shooting from the field lifted Pueblo West to a 16-point win over Pubelo County.
Chase Rogers led four Evergreen players in double figure scoring as they pulled away from Littleton by 34.
Saturday, Feb. 3
Highlands Ranch bounced back from the home loss to T-Ridge with a rare late season match with Denver South. The Falcons rode Brendan Sullivan’s 20 points per game to the 12-point victory.
Aaron Bokol with 15 points for the Raptors in the win.
Liberty has a couple votes in our poll and flexed their 5A muscle vs. 4A No. 5 Pueblo West winning by 12 behind Moz Doria’s 13 points!
One loss Longmont closed another strong week shutting down Rocky Mountain by 23, 63-40 at home. Longmont 15-1 and a strong 4A No. 4 right now.
Make it another strong statement win in Centennial play for Smoky Hill who may be hitting their stride at the right time. A 16-point win over a hot Overland squad is no small feat.
Stud “two-sport” star Marcel Darby is leading No. 1 Pueblo South at 18 points, 6 rebounds per game and they needed it vs. 5A Pine Creek winning 63-54. Colts looking to prove they deserve that No. 1 spot!
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The Look Ahead
Monday, Feb. 5
Mesa Ridge vs. Elizabeth: someone gets win 13!
Denver South & Kennedy in the city…
Lincoln vs. Montbello in more DPL.
Watch out Spartans (TJ), here comes GW!
Tuesday, Feb. 6
ThunderRidge/Chap in the Continental!
Longmont back in action vs. Greeley Central.
Castle View/Highlands Ranch, Continental.
Liberty vs. Rampart down south!
Hey Doherty…The East Angels are headed your way!
Windsor/Holy Family always a “bang”…
Umm…Uhhh…Legend; Rock Canyon will be ready to play!
No. 1 Pueblo South vs. Pueblo County.
Silver Creek & Thompson Valley!
Regis & Mountain Vista – Continental….
Lewis-Palmer vs. Cheyenne Mountain, southern action.
Wednesday, Feb. 7
D’Evelyn & Valor: Round 2!
Evergreen lookin to run again vs. Wheat Ridge.
Smoky Hill & Mullen, Centennial Home&Away!
Grandview/Eaglecrest, Centennital too…
Golden & Standley Lake, Jeffco.
Southern? Falcon & Sand Creek.
Thursday, Feb. 8
Thomas Jefferson & “Da Bellos” (FNE) in DPL.
Lewis-Palmer vs. Discovery Canyon I-25 South!
Top 4A Spot? Longmont vs. Silver Creek!
Rampart & Doherty “braggin rights”…
Friday, Feb. 9
Liberty vs. Pine Creek.
Cherry Creek & Eagle Crest!
PARKER PRIDE: Chap vs. Legend…RUMBLE!
Rock Canyon vs. Highlands Ranch, Continental.
REMATCH: Pueblo at it’s best: No. 1 South vs. West!
ThunderRidge/Mountain Vista: Grizzlies are Rollin!
Saturday, Feb. 10
D-South & Denver East ThunderDome Action!
Littleton tries to test Golden!
Evergreen vs. Green Mountain.
BearCreek/Chatfield Jeffco…
Longmont vs. Summit.
Thornton vs. Rangeview EMAC
Centennial Tough! Grandview/Overland!
Doherty/Palmer, southern Saturday.
Valor & Wheat Ridge close the week…
We are in the third quarter, folks. The final stretch is approaching … get out and enjoy all you can!
Hoop Fans! We are at our end of January mid-week report and this is the thick of league play.
Our early action proved, if nothing else, that you must bring your “hard hat” every night…meaning that if you look past an opponent our state’s big school parity will make you pay!
As much as our Fever Crew enjoyed the early week action…we have some “end of week” bouts that will put an explanation point on the season thus far. Before we get there — let’s see how it all sets up:
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The Look Back
Monday, Jan. 29
(Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)
A familiar name, Trent Dykema of No. 7 Silver Creek in our new coaches poll, once again impressed with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals! He was joined by fellow senior C. Warner who had 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in the win over Littleton. Senior Jason Levy scored 22 in the loss for the Loins.
Mesa Ridge held on to the No. 10 4A spot this week but ran into Classical Academy on their court losing by 5 and senior Jason Belcher’s 22 points led four Titans in double digit scoring for the upset. Check out the video recap here.
Still without senior leader Sindou Cisse, Montbell (FNE) was able to bounce back from bad loss to East by landing on their feet vs. Denver West 80-54 with senior Malik Fofaana scoring 19.
How about four seniors in double figure scoring led by Brendan LaRose’s 24 as Falcon stepped into Cheyenne Mountain and romped by 25!
Elizabeth dropped from our 4A poll and then started the week with a tough 1-point loss to Sierra and junior E. Whitmore score 14 points along with 9 rebounds in the win for the Stallions.
The “big cat” on campus Jaguars remain unbeaten and No. 1 setting up a HUGE Friday night Continental clash with Chaparral. Sam Masten with 21 and junior J Eikenburg 15 in the win.
Silver Creek, holding steady at No. 7, came out strong this week with a 77-43 win at home over Niwot. Holding Niwot to 10 halftime points equals a blowout like that!
Longmont, 4A No. 4, was in a defensive mood too holding Mountain View to single digits in two quarters winning by 14.
Five players in double figure scoring led by stud Kaison Hammonds’ 19 helped T-Ridge run away from Heritage by more than 40!
We see you young soph Darius Hornbuckle! He stepped up big for the Spartans in the league win over Lincoln scoring 21 points and pulling down 5 rebounds from the guard spot.
Pueblo West, now No. 5, refused to make it three losses in a row and took down Pueblo Central by 29 despite Pierre Taylor’s 26 points, 11 rebounds for Central.
Highlands Ranch, just outside of our 5A top 10, rode Brendan Sullivan’s 22 point, 8 rebound average to a 63-50 win over Ponderosa.
Anyone drop a “c-note”? You can find it at Kennedy HS where the GW Patriots dropped 100 POINTS and Xavier Cooper rocked a “monsta” double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds. FRESHMAN ALERT: our guy Kendale Johnson scored 16 in the win as well.
Doherty is fully cementing their spot in the 5A top to and this 27-point win over Coronado with senior Joe Golden scoring 19 which led three in double figures.
Two sport stud Marcell Barbee is leading our new No. 1 in 4A in points, rebounds, and steals. This night he made sure there was no let down after last week’s big wins leading the Colts to a 23-point win over Pueblo East.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
We heard doubters about this Overland squad when they first joined the top 10 with a losing record but folks must not have paid attention to the road these Blazers traveled! They are now No. 6 and 11-7 after beating Cherry Creek by a convincing 29 with Daijon Smith scoring 15.
How do you win by 30, 56-26???? Well, if you’re No. 2 Lewis Palmer you pull out the defense and hold Vista Ridge to a 6-point second half!
Senior Alex Tellis EXPLODED for 31 points but it wasn’t enough to stop No. 6 Valor from passing another road test 76-67.
Evergreen, No. 9 in 4A this week, is led by Bridger Tenney in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks! The young man is “stat-stuffin!” and helped the Cougars get a solid road win at D’Evelyn!
Smoky Hill is back in the 5A top 10 at the final spot and our Fever Crew felt they could “leave no doubt” in a Centennial game at Cherokee Trail to prove they belong there. They did just that going into the Cougars house and laying down a 31-point beat down!
Big Man Dayne Prim leads in points and rebounds for No. 7 Grandview who went into Arap’s Sitting Eagle Gym – a tough spot to win — and earned a 16-point decision.
Mesa Ridge, No. 10 in 4A, closes our mid-week action but they ran into a 19 point effort from Tre Pierre along with 18 from TJ Davis and Widefield gets the win by 7!
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Mid-Week Thoughts
MANY leagues continue to prove to be BRUTAL. You have to bring your “hard hat” and “A-Game” each night out.
As in any state, we see our blowouts pretty regularly but for the most part we have some nice parity at the top of each league in our big school ball.
Can’t wait to see how the remaining action in Week 8 plays out…and did we mention a little Continental action between unbeaten Rock Canyon at Chaparral Friday night?
We caught some nice individual performances from top players/teams but then this young man from Golden comes out and claims a 47-point double-double effort that may have been one of the best of the year. Adam Thistlewood has Golden on a mission!
Speaking of focused, our Ball Fever “chat” caught up with a senior star from the No. 2 squad in 5A, ThunderRidge, and Kaison Hammonds is ready to lead by example … with his mates ready to do “whatever it takes!”
Big man Tre Pierre got Thursday started with a 20 point, 13 rebound double-double in Widefield’s 8-point win over Sierra. Derrian Reed scored 24 in the loss.
Quite a night for junior Grant Wilkinson who exploded for 39 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in Pine Creek’s 18-point win over Coronado.
No. 3 Chaparral was without stud junior Ronnie DeGray III but his running mate Kobe Sanders simply caught fire nailing 7 three pointers for the Wolverines as they beat Heritage by 14. Sanders finished with 25 points total.
Young soph Mark Oneil scored 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists to help Fairview snatch “braggin rights” from rival Boulder 57-44.
Friday, Jan. 26
(Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)
Due to a HEAVY road schedule GW Hoops held their senior night on Friday and Denver South didn’t know they were in for a Patriot Party as “G-dubb” rolled 82-46. How about NINE big blocks for senior Tray Pierce on the night and fellow senior Jon’il Fuggett added the scoring punch with 29!
Smoky Hill looking to get back in our top 10 and more importantly a signature league win which they earned Friday night over No. 7 Grandview. Junior Kenny Foster is increasing his scoring pace and now at 15 points per game.
No. 5 Denver East held Thomas Jefferson to single digits in two separate quarters and that led to a big blow out of 40 points with junior Kwane Marble “stat-stuffin” 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals!
Silver Creek cooled off a bit and is now No. 7 in the poll but hit Northridge with a 25 point loss and Trent Dykema secured a nice double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds. Quite a feat from the guard spot!
Ryan Ongala helped Rangeview take “braggin Aurora rights” from Vista Peak scoring 19 points and pulling down 6 rebounds in the 56-53 win.
Upset CITY! Pueblo West who was handled by Pueblo South also lost a heart breaking 1-point loss to upset minded Pueblo East who are led by Marcus Winston in points and rebounds this season.
No. 1 Lewis-Palmer wasn’t messing around vs. Sand Creek winning by over 40 points and Joel Scott scores 28 to go along with Matt Raggsdale’s 16 on the night.
Golden, 4A No. 4 last week, beat a solid D’Evelyn team by an impressive 20 points and Adam Thistlewood might just have hit the “MONSTA” double-double of the year dropping 47 points with 10 rebounds! Watch this team to use adversity to make a late season run.
Junior A. Rodriguez scored 27 for Pueblo Centennial but not enough to halt hot Pueblo South who showed no let down in the 68-57 win.
Saturday, Jan. 27
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Our state’s No. 2 5A squad ThunderRidge continues roll along at 14-1 and the teams senior leader took some time for a “Ball Fever” Chat after Saturday’s thumping of Legend 79-54.
Senior Kaison Hammonds is leading the Grizzlies at 16 points per game and his love for T-Ridge shines through as he explains that including Gold Crown youth ball he’s been a part of the program for 9 years
“I feel like our team has been working hard and we’ve been pushing each other to get over the hump and win a state championship,” said Hammonds, who added he remembers losing the state title to Overland and a Final 4 loss last season.
Hammonds commented that he loves the way his teammates will do whatever it takes to win, “Whether that’s playing hard defense, or taking a charge that changes momentum, my teammates and I will do whatever!”
Hammonds feels his memories of tough losses and experience will help T-Ridge come playoff time, but right now he’s focused on league play saying, “Rivalries versus Rock Canyon and Mountain Vista, playing in front of pack Continental crowds” is what he really enjoys. “There’s nothing like it!”
Look for this talented young man to play long beyond our high school scene. He has next level ability, gives his all on BOTH ends of the floor, and that will make some college coach happy in the future.
Mesa Ridge joined last week’s top ten and if they keep 5 players scoring double figures like they did in putting up 88 points on Canon City they may very well stay. Senior Tristan Widic led all with 22 points.
Montbello (FNE) is short their senior star Sindou Cisse due to injury during the Kansas tournament and that didn’t bode well for their ThunderDome “city showdown” with No. 5 Denver East. Stud Daylen Kountz took full advantage of Cisse’s absence scoring a game high 26 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals in the Angels blowout win.
Speaking of Continental league rivalries, No. 1 Rock Canyon may have another senior we can add to “The Firm” of Gilbert, Masten, and Williams! Joe Bryson scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds to join “The Firm” in double digit scoring taking down the Eagles 68-53 to keep the Jags unbeaten on the season.
Evergreen, up to No. 8 last week in 4A, gave 22 points to Standley Lake’s Garrett Martin but they held on for the home win by 13.
Longmont, led by Luke Johnson averaging 18 points per game, routed Roosevelt by 45 Saturday!
No. 6 Valor used a team, defensive effort to hold Littleton to 39 while putting up 56 of their own and the full roster contributed to the scoring column.
Lewis-Palmer shaking off that first loss to a 4A squad and got 41 combined points from Joel Scott/Matt Ragsdale to hold on to that top spot in win over Erie.
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The Look Ahead
Monday, Jan. 29
Denver East looks to hurt Denver North in the city…
Silver Creek vs. Littleton.
Falcon vs. Cheyenne Mountain, southern action.
Elizabeth, No. 10 4A, vs. Sierra.
Mesa Ridge broke in top 10 too and face Classical Academy.
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Longmont faces Mountain View.
Douglas County gets their shot at No. 1 Rock Canyon!
Highlands Ranch/Pondo in other Continental action.
Hot GW eyes Kennedy in the city.
Fort Collins & Fossil Ridge rivalry up north!
Castle View & Regis.
No. 2 T-Ridge looks to pounce on Heritage.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Hot Golden faces Wheat Ridge. How does Thistlewood follow-up 47!??
Vista Ridge with a chance at No. 1 Lewis-Palmer.
Smoky Hill must leave no doubt vs. C-Trail.
Valor vs. Green Mountain.
Elizabeth hosts Harrison.
Evergreen will be tested by D’Evelyn.
Grandview & Arap!
Overland vs. Creek in Centennial, too.
Mesa Ridge and Widefield both 12-4!
Thursday, Feb. 1
Montbello (FNE) vs. D South in the city.
Doherty vs. Pine Creek!
Liberty/Palmer down south as well.
Friday, Feb. 2
Highly-anticipated 5A Top 5: Chaparral/Rock Canyon is here!
Pueblo South tries to continue domination vs. P Central.
Lincoln/Denver East is good Denver Prep League ball!
Not good news for Niwot that Longmont is comin!
Legend faces Regis.
Gets real good in 4A: Top 10 Valor & Golden get it on.
ThunderRidge/Highlands Ranch in rival “braggin’ rights”!
Pueblo County/Pueblo West down south.
Falcon & Lewis-Palmer won’t let you down!
Elizabeth vs. Widefield.
C Trail/Grandview closes out the night!
Saturday, Feb. 3
Arap/Eaglecrest have your 2 pm Centennial stuff!
H Ranch & Denver South non league fun.
Pueblo West vs. Liberty.
Pine Creek testing Pueblo South!
Rocky Mountain at Longmont.
Overland & Smoky Hill will be rockin’ to close the week!
An action packed week lies ahead of us folks with some highly anticipated top games. Can’t wait!
We saw our No. 1 4A squad take their first loss in week 7 but they remained the top squad in our poll. We didn’t expect a fall after a loss for the Rangers to a solid 5A squad.
Speaking of 5A, no change there as Rock Canyon just continues to roll as the states undisputed (and undefeated) No. 1.
The place to be, Ball Fever Top Pick, was the 4A top 5 battle between Pueblo South and Pueblo West. Dan Mohrmann has the story on Pueblo South flexing its defensive muscle!
The “defensive theme” continues with No. 1 Rock Canyon holding 8 points and 2 points in quarters…add Sam Masten’s 27 with back court mate Tyson Gilbert’s 17 you get a 30+ point win over Heritage.
Erik Grossaint and C Warner joined Trent Dykema in double figure scoring in No. 7 Silver Creek’s win over Centaurus.
At 14-1, ThunderRidge is No. 2 in our 5A poll and looked that way in a blow out win 88-55 over Castle View.
Thompson Valley dropped from the 4A top 10 but Longmont is holding steady at No. 5 and a 25-point win with Luke Johnson’s 19 points made a statement!
Another double-double sighting for Doherty’s Joe Golden with an 18 point, 12 rebound effort in the No. 9 Spartans tough win over Fountain-Fort Carson.
How about 16 players in the scoring column for No. 5 Denver East in the romp over Kennedy. Everyone got some action!
Top 10 5A match! Chaparral left no doubt in the 66-39 win over Highlands Ranch. Ronnie DeGray III with 25 points in short minutes on the night.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Tristan Pratt dropped 27 points with 5 rebounds in Vista Ridge’s win over Sand Creek by 20.
Vista Peak with another solid win over Brighton to follow up their upset of Silver Creek last week!
Our Fever Crew is keeping an eye on this ever improving Valor squad, not at No. 6 4A, who again impressed beating Standley Lake by 19 after a first quarter advantage of 21-8.
Smoky Hill is eager to prove their fall from the 5A top 10 is only temporary and they took a big step in that direction with a 62-44 win over Cherry Creek rival who was on a bit of a hot streak.
Upset Alert!! The scoring duo of Matt Ragsdale and Joel Scott were held to a low 13 points combined and No. 1 fell to Palmer Ridge’s stout defense. Palmer Ridge held the Rangers to 4 second quarter points which was the key in the 9-point win.
“Put it on REPEAT!”. We’ll say it again: this Overland squad has been battle tested with a tough schedule and they had no mercy beating Arapahoe 88-46. The Blazers are up to No. 6 in our poll.
Hot squads!?? Look no further than No. 3 George Washington who was supposed to be tested by Lincoln on this night but instead they tested the score keeper as they ran up 95 points in the 25-point win. Jon’il Fuggett leads Patriots in points, steals, and assists!
Grandview slid a bit to No. 7 in 5A but came out strong beating Mullen in league play 69-54.
Top 10 4A action and Adam Thistlewood showed up big for Golden in the tight 1-point win over Evergreen. Thistlewood scored 20 points and added 7 rebounds.
Falcon is at the door of the top 10 and Reece Warren’s 15 point, 7 rebound effort helped them to their second solid win of the week by 1-point over Discovery Canyon.
Eaglecrest, at the door of the 5A top 10, lost a tough one to East on Monday but bounced back nicely in league play with 20-point win over Cherokee Trail.
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Mid-Week Thoughts
Lewis-Palmer has a couple of recent losses and Pueblo South’s ultra impressive win over Pueblo West has the LP/P South rematch looking good (maybe at the Coliseum, again?).
Golden continues to look good and Longmont closes out the Fever top 4 this week.
In 5A, Rock Canyon is still “the man” until someone can give them a loss. The Jags are the cream right now but literally any of the squads ranked 2-7 could challenge them on a given night.
But! Challenge doesn’t mean “beat” and we’ll see if RC can remain unbeaten.
Welcome back, hoops fans! As we discussed in our mid-week report our focus this week will be on the little things that help teams win, the “Dirty Work!”
The Fever Crew received a ton of positive feedback on the angle and we’re excited to dig into a bit more of our unsung heroes. Let’s get to the rest of Week 7!
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The Look Back
Thursday, Jan. 18
(Marcus Gipson/Jmariahimages.com)
Montbello (FNE) and Lotus S/E got things started post mid-week with Kansas tourney action! Sindou Cisse scoring potential has been documented but with our “dirty work” theme Malik Fofanna caught our eye with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals in the “Bellos” blow out win in Colby, KS.
Sam Bannec doesn’t always lead the scoring for Regis because he’s the type to do whatever the team needs to win but he led the charge for Regis’ comeback over DougCo.
Avery Remboa was all over with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals but it wasn’t enough as Loveland came up short vs. Monarch by 15.
In more Kansas tourney play Falcon took on Hutchinson and our Crew sights some serious dirty work from Mitchell Ballage’s 12 points, 10 rebounds, in the 14 point win.
We see you Lucas Lacy, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 10 BIG ASSISTS will always stand out on our unselfish “dirty work” radar! Lacy, the senior, getting it done in Widefield’s 21-point win over Harrison.
Senior Joshua Frankmore, getting “dirty work” done for Classical Academy in their big 13-point road win at Sierra leading four players with 14 points and 3 rebounds!
Ok, Ok….when you’re the top team in the state you get exceptions! Sam Masten’s overall game is off the charts and even though he’s spotlighted regularly we can’t help but recognize 27 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals!! “Stat-Stuffin”, “Dirty Work”, “Monsta” double-double…Whatever you wanna call it – Big Sam got it done in this win over Ponderosa.
Highlands Ranch, No. 10 in 5A, continues it’s winning ways and continues to change the Continental landscape with a win at Legend! “Dirty Work”, quietly improving!
Our Fever Crew talked about that baseball stud, Bryce Matthews, in “Dirty Work” Edition – Part 1…but there’s another Wolverine who scored 15 on this night and does all the little things to help Chap win consistently! He’s only a soph, but PG Kobe Sanders will be a FORCE in years to come and his 15 points (all 3 pointers!) in Chap’s 23-point win over Castle View is just a sign of what’s ahead for this young man.
Can you call it quiet “Dirty Work” when 4A No. 2 Pueblo South takes it to Pueblo Central 81-35!?? Colts “D-Fence” allowed 2 points in the second quarter and 7 in fourth! With their offensive talent this time of defense makes them very scary come March.
Friday, Jan. 19
Montbello (FNE) and Fountain-Fort Carson found each other across the border in the Colby, KS tourney and again it was another “Bellos” senior doing the dirty work along with some scoring punch in Ryan Booker’s 19 points and 2 rebounds. Warriors win 44-37.
Everyone did scoring in bunches as Lincoln blew out Denver West but we like the dirty work stat line of senior Shyreef Robbins 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Doing a bit of it all!
Speaking of “work”, how about senior Caleb Blackburn of Discovery Canyon’s 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in the win over Vista Ridge.
Windsor has battled their way into the 4A top 10 at No. 9 and earn a 7 point win over Berthoud.
Silver Creek’s Trent Dykema kept it rolling with another “30-piece” in scoring but how about 19-21 free throws!?? Double digit rebounds? Oh, senior Erik Grossaint pulled down 13 to go along with his 20 point double-double.
Senior Luke Johnson “gettin dirty” with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals in No. 4 Longmont’s win over Northridge by 19!
Thompson Valley entered the 4A top 10 last week but Greeley Central didn’t mind handing them a loss anyway and we like Xavier Bonham’s line of 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals in the win.
There must be dirty work in 4A top 10 action between Evergreen and Valor, right? In a tight 5-point win by the Eagles sophomore R. Rosengarten stepped up with 4 offensive and 11 defensive rebounds!
Great week of hoops for Eaglecrest who got a close 1-point win over high flying Smoky Hill. Xaivon Jackson is leading the squad in rebounds, assists, and steals from the PG spot! The Raptors have gotten a few top 10 votes in previous weeks and are knocking on the door.
Lane Sherwood scored 14 for Pueblo County but not nearly enough as No. 2 Pueblo South rolls 70-41.
Greg Bennett, a junior for Pueblo Centennial, had a workman like line of 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals but again down south No. 3 Pueblo West pulled away by more than 30.
The Fever Crew heard the critics about Overland joining the coaches poll with a losing record but the turn around streak they’re on cannot be denied and the Blazers get another team effort/win with R. Clark III leading the scoring with 14 this time.
Usually not the leading scorer for No. 1 Lewis-Palmer, junior Noah Baca scored 11, added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in the 15-point win over Air Academy.
Four players in double digit scoring and Adam Thistlewood added 10 rebounds in Golden’s win by 15 over Green Mountain.
Doherty gave Regis all they could handle led by Alijah Bates 24 points on the road but the Raiders Sam Bannec was huge with 19 points and 6 rebounds in the win.
Saturday, Jan. 20
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Centennial league wins are as tough as ever this season and Grandview got another over Cherry Creek. Everyone contributed to the team win but how about this dirty work: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 2 deflections from soph Caleb McGill!
It would take a huge effort to knock off unbeaten No. 1 Lewis-Palmer and Liberty got just that from Sean Bohuslavsky who dropped 28 big points and senior Moz Doria was all over the “dirty work” with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in the huge win for the Lancers. The Fever Crew doesn’t expect Lewis-Palmer to fall far after their first loss coming to a 5A squad.
Well hello, Kirk Relford! The Windsor senior capped a great week for the Wizards with a 30 point, 4 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steal effort in the 30-point win over Roosevelt.
Vista Peak was in need of a signature win and they got it at home over No. 6 Silver Creek. Te’Rae Jackson has been averaging 17 points per game for the Bison who pulled off the big upset.
Brendan LaRose with a “monsta” 17 rebounds in the finale of the “Orange & Black” Tourney Classic in Kolby, KS vs. Montbello (FNE) and he also chipped in 19 points for good measure for Falcon!
In the week’s finale, Denver East battled Bellevue West (Nebraska) and Daylen Kountz introduced himself to the NE fans with a 23 point, 6 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steal performance in the Angels 8 point road win!
[divider]
The Look Ahead
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Monday, Jan. 22
Falcon & Air Academy down south…
Denver East & Eaglecrest annual get down! Both playing well.
Improving Discovery Canyon vs. Cheyenne Mountain.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Denver East vs. Kennedy in the city.
Watch out Heritage! No. 1 Rock Canyon’s comin’ your way!
Silver Creek vs. Centaurus.
Greeley West vs. Boulder.
T-Ridge & Castle View, Continental!
Doherty vs. Fountain-Fort Carson. Spartans are 12-3!
Longmont & Thompson Valley in top 4A action…
Chaparral vs. Highlands Ranch, love it!
Pueblo South & Pueblo West “Braggin Rights!” Top 5 4A
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Cherry Creek & Smoky Hill Centennial Tangle!
Hot Overland hosts Arap.
Eaglecrest/CT in more Aurora action.
Grandview, now 12-3, heads to Mullen.
Valor, post Vegas strong & Standley Lake
GW & Lincoln in the city! Can Lancers slow “en fuego” Patriots?
Lewis-Palmer & Palmer Ridge another good one!
Thursday, Jan. 25
Sierra & Widefield should be good, Springs!
Liberty & Doherty another southern battle..
Highlands Ranch huge Continental test vs. Regis.
Friday, Jan. 26
Grandview/Smoky Hill…IT’S ON!
D-South tries to test GW.
Thomas Jefferson annual tangle with East.
Longmont vs. Centaurus.
Eaglecrest/Overland meaningful Centennial stuff!
Discovery Canyon vs. Air Academy.
Lewis-Palmer & Sand Creek rematch.
Don’t sleep on Vista Peak, Rangeview! A-Town fun.
Golden/D’evelyn top 4A ball!
Pueblo South putting up points eyes P-Centennial.
Saturday, Jan. 27
It’s ThunderDome time: Da Bellos vs. Denver East
Fountain-Fort Carson vs. Pine Creek for your southern Saturday.
ThunderRidge takes it show to Legend.
Longmont/Roosevelt both double digit win squads!
Lewis-Palmer & Erie.
Littleton takes on Valor.
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Get out and enjoy the action, folks! Our top players/squads, along with our unsung heroes who do the “Dirty Work” deserve our attention!
Heard from a few different coaches our Fever Crew respects this week and we picked up on a theme: “The little things, DIRTY WORK.” Yes, you must put the ball in the whole and outscore the other team to win but as one of our running mates always says, “There’s two sides of the darn court … gotta get some stops too!”
This got us to thinking about a bit of a different angle. We track the top teams and high scorers but this week let’s zero in on some of our boys who may not get the “shine” of being a top scorer but aren’t afraid of doing the “Dirty Work” to help get the team a win.
Week 7, Ball Fever “Dirty Work” Edition, Part 1:
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Monday, Jan. 15
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, Jan. 16
Appropriate that this week’s action starts with GW who jumped to No. 3 in our poll after an ultra impressive week of 3 wins on the road last week. GW began league play vs. Montbello (FNE) and they kept on marching with a 76-64 win. Mohammed Diallo has been scoring more of late but he’s our “dirty work” player pulling down 8 offensive rebounds and 5 defensively for 13 total! Patriots are rolling…
Dennis Pluess covered D’Evelyn taking on tough 3A Faith Christian … and it took a rally
We know No. 1 Rock Canyon has two prolific scorers in that back court but once again the third senior of “The Firm” did the “dirty work” as Blake Williams scored 13 with 9 big rebounds in the rivalry win over No. 8 Regis
Let’s go over to 4A for some more top 10 action! Silver Creek, now No. 6, hosted No. 4 Longmont and came up just short at home by 2. Longmont’s dirty work? Dallas Dye is leading in rebounds at 6 per game and Brady Renck is running away with an impressive 3 steals per.
Mountain Range traveled to Legacy and came away with a 20 point win. How about senior Mike Polson’s work with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals! Now that’s “stat stuffin” a little “dirty work”.
When you think blue collar work a Mead/Windsor battle should pop right up. Mead got the upset on this night over No. 9 Windsor by 5. Junior Brennen Seyboldt was grinding for 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
Boulder made a late run but came up just short in a league game at Horizon 60-59. Junior Alex Lawrence hit big for 24 points in the win.
Widefield shut Mitchell down defensively only giving up single digits in two of the four quarters. Tre Pierre can do many things well but he was in the paint for 8 “dirty work” rebounds and even found time for 2 assists.
ThunderRidge has somewhat quietly worked it’s way right on up to 5A No. 2 this week. Our Fever Crew has documented the improvement of Douglas County down south…well? The Grizzlies weren’t impressed as they “doubled-up” DougCo 64-32. The scoring of Hammonds and McCaw has been stated before but fellow senior Tyson Cruickshank scored 11 in this win and is averaging 3 assists, 3 steals per game!
Thompson Valley, in at No. 10 in 4A, is no stranger to work and Hayden Ell’s workman like 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals helped in the pounding of Niwot at home.
Harrison pulled off the win down south over Sierra but no fault of the Stallions soph Imani Grigsby who scored 22, pulled down 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Again, stat-stuffing dirty work!
Shooting 8-11 for 73% from the field you will get some “dirty work” love from our Crew! That was Pierre Taylor’s scoring for Pueblo West in the win over Pueblo County and he added 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Haven’t talked about this young man enough and even though Brendan Sullivan is Highlands Ranch “go-to guy”, leading scorer he’s earned a shout in the “dirty work” edition. He’s averaging 22 per game and a huge reason H-Ranch is ranked 10 in 5A.
Rampart was on a bit of a streak but Doherty has a couple of guys putting in work on the inside too! Alijah Bates 12 rebounds and Joe Golden’s 11 (along with 4 assists) helped the Spartans make an early league statement winning by 10 at Rampart.
Chap’s Bryce Matthews is a D-1 baseball stud on the rise but the Wolverines are so happy he joined the hoops squad this year! He’s tough, does the dirty work we’ve discussed today, and…ummm…welll…uhhhh can grab alley oops off the backboard too! Chap humbled Pondo on this night with numerous high flying dunks and defense.
Valor has climbed to No. 7 in our poll but got a scare from Wheatridge who took them to the final minute of a 61-59 Eagles win. Workhorse? Jeremy Randle leads Valor in scoring, assists, and steals!
Smoky Hill has dropped from our 5A top 10 but we have a feeling this team is long from written off. They held home court tonight 66-48 over Centennial foe Arapahoe. Big man Will Becker can get it done offensively but he’s also pulling 10 rebounds and blocking 3 shots per game!
You can’t say “dirty work” in Aurora/EMAC without mentioning Rangeview’s Ryan Ongala. The tough big man scored 17 and pulled down 4 rebounds in win over Broomfield which is the role he plays night in and night out for the Raiders.
It seemed like just last week the Fever Crew was saying that Grandview was just about as hot as it could get. Well, a week or so later, take a look at Overland heating up at the right time! The Trailblazers have benefited from a brutal early schedule and one of their hard workers senior Goy Wang scored 16 in the last second win over the Wolves where Daijon Smith hit the “walk off” 3! Feel the excitement.
Adam Thistlewood did the scoring for No. 6 Golden and our “dirty work” candidate in the win over Littleton is senior Joe Madden and his 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Lincoln has been playing better ball of late but Boulder was determined not to lose another heart breaker in back to back nights. The Panthers had two sophs not just doing the little things but scoring big in Caleb Wehmuller’s 20 points and Tyler Turner’s 18. Five point road win for Boulder.
The Fever Crew made it out to Cherry Creek for our first look at “new look” Eaglecrest. We’ve seen Cherry Creek and knew football stud Dimitri Stanley would surely be all over the “dirty work” for the Bruins, but it was the Raptors who took this game Creek had a chance to tie at the buzzer but a 3-pointer came up short with no time remaining. Sophomore Sebastian Cole was impressive for Creek and plays much more poised than a soph, but the Raptors timely late plays including this “monsta” jam by Thomas Dangerfield III helped seal the road win.
That was fun, folks! Top scorers and well known players keep our high school scene fun but as many a coach has shared with us over the years: “It’s the little things and the guys who do the ‘dirty work’ that make the difference!”
Crazy start to Week 2 of 2018 and Week 6 of the big-school boys basketball season!
GW, Eaglecrest, Thompson Valley, Valor & Overland coming back to life are just a hand full of teams shaking up what you may have thought was going down in 5A/4A. Yes, W-I-D-E open!
Thompson Valley stunned No. 2 Silver Creek jumping out to an 18-9 first quarter advantage and held on to win on the road! T Valley is one of the few teams who have held scoring machine Trent Dykema to under 20 points, at 16 on this night.
No. 6 Longmont flexed some defensive muscle holding Greeley Central to 34 points while scoring 57 in the win!
The defensive theme continues as Sierra held Mitchell to 30 points and Derrian Reed scored 17 of the Stallion’s 51.
Denver South has been traveling around and playing well of late but Pueblo East’s soph Marvin London scored 14 in East’s comeback win at home.
Lincoln seems to be turning a positive corner and soph Ty Foster scored 15 in the 22-point win over Aurora Central.
Rampart’s just on the outside of our 5A top 10 and the 7-Footer Dawson Carper had one of those dominant games in the win vs. Liberty with a “monsta” double-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds. Carper added 4 blocks!
Junior Jack Olson led four Lightning in double figure scoring with 18 but still not enough for Legacy to take down Monarch.
Holy Family hoping to hold on to the No. 7 spot in the rankings but Windsor took this conference win 74-61.
Broomfield claimed a few votes in our 5A coaches poll and they impressed on the road 72-51 over Greeley West with Devin Martinez scoring 23.
Smoky Hill fell victim to a rash of late technical fouls that some feel were highly questionable early in the week but the Buff’s bounce back for their first Centennial league win over Mullen by 10.
Highlands Ranch, in at No. 10 last week, edged Douglas County 48-47 for a fourth quarter comeback. Love the “southern improvement” from these two squads!
Senior Ryan Booker opened up for a season high 21 points for the “Bellos” (Far North East) in the 21 point win over Kennedy.
Falcon entered the 4A top 10 for first time and earned a 6-point win over Sand Creek. Reece Warren is pacing Falcon at 17 points per game.
Chap was missing one of their stud juniors, Bryce Matthews, but were still able to pull off a double digit Continental road victory at Mountain Vista with Joe Dalton and Ronnie DeGray III both scoring in double digits.
Saturday, Jan. 13
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
No. 1 Rock Canyon “kept on truckin” with every senior contributing heavily in the 19 point win over Dakota Ridge and Sam Masten scored 21 complimented by Tyson Gilbert’s 14.
Hello, AGAIN, Mr. Joel Scott! Lewis Palmer traveled to Pueblo East and Scott scored 32 for the 4A No. 1 squad to keep them on a hot streak!
Our Fever Crew became quick fans of smooth sophomore Luke O’Brien when we saw him in person and he dropped a “40-piece” on Bear Creek in OT!
No. 4 Golden bounced back with a 10-point win at Standley Lake.
Holy Family had three players in double figures led by Tanner Baird’s 14 but not enough as Denver South wins another close road victory by 2!
The Fever Crew reports Ryan Ongala did his best to protect the paint and Rangeveiw’s home court with 17 point, 10 rebound double-double but not enough as GW finished a tremendous week winning three straight road games vs. tough opponents and Jonil Fuggett scored 22 points in this road win!
Well, folks…our Fever Crew has mentioned that Coach Fisher would get the Trailblazers rolling but we didn’t even see this 32 point thrashing of Cherokee Trail coming! Catch your video here…
“30-piece” sighting! The Longmont/Mead tilts usually come down to the wire but Luke Johnson’s 32 point night powered Longmont to a 32 point win.
Widefield dropped from our 4A top 10 last week but three seniors score 18 points each in their lopsided win over Woodland Park. Tre Pierre added 5 rebounds to his 18!
Grandview jumped up to No. 2 after a seriously strong early run but this is why the Fever Crew calls it “Centennial Tough” and Eaglecrest upset and handed Grandview their first in-state loss by 15!
Big man Dawson Carper followed up his 32 point night with a 22 point effort and helped Rampart win this one on the road 71-67 over Pine Creek to close out the week!
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The Look Ahead
Monday, Jan. 15
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! “Life’s most urgent question is? What are you doing for others?” Take time to serve today and be a blessing to someone!
Tuesday, Jan. 16
“Da Bellos” (Far North East) may be getting HOT GW at the wrong time!
Longmont vs. Silver Creek…Two 1 loss teams in 4A!
Boulder & Horizon.
Windsor vs. Mead “slug fest”.
Pueblo West/Pueblo County down south.
Chaparral vs. Pondo in Continental!
Douglas County improved but now get T-Ridge!
Speaking of Continental! Regis gets a shot at No. 1 Rock Canyon…
Doherty/Rampart down south…who’s ready?!!
Wednesday, Jan. 17
Longmont & Silver Creek top notch 4A!
Can Lincoln keep the “mo” going vs. Boulder?
Littleton vs. Golden.
Broomfield/Rangeview…intriguing…
Eaglecrest and Creek, Centennial.
Discovery Canyon vs. streaking Lewis Palmer!
Overland is ballin’ heading into Grandview big one!
Thursday, Jan. 18
Legacy vs. Greeley West.
Ponderosa has a task vs. Rock Canyon!
Rampart & Palmer down south.
H-Ranch looking to take a step at Legend!
Chaparral and Castleview in Continental too…
Douglas County trying to prove vs. Regis.
Pueblo South/Puelo Central in southern action.
Friday, Jan. 19
Silver Creek vs. Mountain View.
Mullen/Overland – Centennial separation…
Pueblo South @ Pueblo County.
Doherty vs. Regis in nice non-league.
Lewis Palmer vs. Air Academy.
Eaglecrest vs. Smoky Hill.
Evergreen & Valor.
Saturday, Jan. 20
Can’t go wrong with Creek/Grandview!
Liberty & Lewis-Palmer will be solid.
Silver Creek looks to stay strong vs. Vista Peak.
Denver East testing the Nebraska waters vs. Bellevue West.
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The league/conference games are heating up along with a few intriguing non-league match-ups left on the docket! Get out, and enjoy!
