(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — The race for the Class 4A Colorado Springs Metro League title may be down to just one horse.

With their 77-39 win over Widefield on Tuesday night, the Sierra Stallions (12-3 overall, 6-0 4A Colorado Springs Metro League) now have a stronghold on the league standings.

Hyped as a battle of two league contenders, the Stallions were explosive on offense and suffocating on defense, proving to be far too much for the Gladiators (13-3, 5-2) to handle.

“We didn’t show up tonight,” Widefield coach Mark Munoz said. “We knew they were going to hit us and we got impatient on offense and we can’t do that. We were one and done (on offense) too many times.”

After fighting through turnovers at both ends of the court, the two teams were tied 4-4 early in the contest. That’s when the Stallions turned on the after-burners, finishing the quarter on a 16-4 run.

Stallions coach Terry Dunn emphasizes defense from his players and they didn’t disappoint him in the second quarter. Offensively they maintain a strong pace with 16 points, but it was the defense that stole the spotlight before halftime. The Stallions didn’t surrender a Gladiators field goal until there was only 31 seconds left in the half.

“We’re a good defensive team,” sophomore C.J. Jennings said. “Sierra basketball starts with our defense.”

When told the Stallions went over seven minutes without allowing a field goal, he seemed taken back.

Sierra’s Kion Wingo (5) defends against Widefield’s Dazmeir Rodgers (right) during Tuesday night’s game. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow)

“I knew we’re good, but I didn’t know we were that good,” he said.

Jennings finished with 17 points and was one of four Stallions to score in double figures. Keandre Lewis led all scorers with 20.

It doesn’t escape the Stallions that they were able to do this against a good basketball team. The Gladiators nearly broke the top 10 in this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings. A strong performance against a good team was a very pleasant sight for Dunn.

“We have a little bit of depth,” Dunn said. “Widefield is a very good team. You can’t focus on one or two guys. This team right here, we have guys that can score when they take the shots they’re supposed to take.”

Sierra hasn’t lost since Dec. 12 and have begun to creep up in the weekly rankings. Their performance Tuesday night is likely to get noticed throughout the 4A classification, but that’s not necessarily what the Stallions want.

Performances like the win against Widefield will go a long way in terms of league standings and playoff seeding, but for right now, Sierra is content with flying under the radar.

“We’re definitely the underdogs right now and have a lot of room to improve before the playoffs roll around,” Jennings said. “At this moment, I’d say I like being under the radar but going forward I think I want other teams to start taking notice of us.”

For the Gladiators, their focus is to put this game behind them. They figured out that they have several things they can improve on and the best way to do that is to move on from this loss and get back out on the court.

“The good thing about playing twice a week is that we have a pre-game tomorrow and a game on Thursday,” Munoz said. “So we’ll see how we do.”

Ralston Valley senior Collin Root (9). (Dennis Pleuss)

Wyoming football is increasing its reach in Colorado over the past week.

On Tuesday, the Cowboys landed Ralston Valley athlete Collin Root, who played tight end, linebacker and kicked for the Mustangs.

Root announced his decision on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/collin9root/status/560295872534040576

He later said that he’d likely play fullback at Wyoming.

Root becomes the third Colorado product to pick Wyoming in recent days, having picked up Rampart kicker Tristan Bailey and Lutheran wide receiver Josh Clausen. His teammate at RV, Andrew Wingard, is also headed to Wyoming.

As a senior last fall, Root helped Ralston Valley go 12-1 and reach the Class 5A semifinals. He had three touchdown catches, and 76 total tackles on defense, but his most memorable moment came in the second round against Eaglecrest when he nailed a 56-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.

After the season, he was a first-team all-state pick in Class 5A.

Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood (20) sprints toward the basket while being chased after by Green Mountain junior Austin Fritts in the first half Tuesday night. Thistlewood’s 24 points, eight steals, seven assists and three rebounds led the No. 2 Demons to a 69-35 road victory against Class 4A Jeffco League rival Rams. (Dennis Pleuss)

LAKEWOOD — Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood was a thorn in the side of Green Mountain early and often Tuesday night.

Thistlewood scored 16 points in the opening eight minutes to energize the Demons, ranked No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys basketball poll, to a 69-35 road victory.

“I knew today during warm ups I was shooting really well,” said Thistlewood who was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. “Those steals, we just wanted to convert those today and I was able to do that.”

Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood lays one in during his 16-point first quarter Tuesday against Green Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss)

The 6-foot-2 guard finished with a solid statistic line: 24 points, eight steals, seven assists and three rebounds.

Green Mountain (6-9 overall, 3-4 in 4A Jeffco) actually took an early 6-0 lead on 3-pointers by senior Rob Godshall and junior Austin Fritts.

“Once Green Mountain scored those first six points we knew we had to zone in,” Thistlewood said.

Fritts buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 9-9 with 4:15 left in the first quarter, but he was slapped with a technical foul after arguing that he was fouled on the 3-pointer. Thistlewood made both free throws following the technical foul which started a 27-0 run by Golden (13-2, 7-0).

The Demons’ defense held Green Mountain to a single point from midway through the first quarter until Fritts hit a 3-pointer with 6:43 left in the third quarter to make the score 41-13. Golden had 13 steals in the first half while Green Mountain put up just a dozen shot attempts against the Demons’ half-court 1-3-1 pressure zone defense.

“(Thistlewood) up on top of the zone was getting deflections,” Golden coach John Anderson said. “He is an animal up there. He was huge.”

Golden needed some players to step up being shorthanded on the night. Junior Ryan Blodgett (10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game) didn’t play because of a sprained ankle he suffered in a win last Friday against Wheat Ridge. Senior Cole Greff (10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game) banged heads with Green Mountain junior Alec Stowell on the opening tip. Greff suffered a cut above his eye and didn’t return.

“We lose Cole Greff and we are without probably two all-state players, but it’s the same old theme. Our bench always comes in plays hard and knows what their job is,” Anderson said. “They responded without our two big guys (Greff and Blodgett).”

Junior Nick Capaul and sophomore Kayden Sund scored 12 points each, along with controlling the paint on both ends of the court.

“I definitely forced me and Nick Capaul to put some emphasis on rebounding tonight,” Sund said. “Coach (Anderson) had wanted us to play like Dennis Rodman this week. Really get after every board and every loose ball.”

Capaul and Sund also showed some range from the outside. Capaul canned four 3-pointers while Sund added one from long range. Senior Phil Katzman contributed eight points off the bench for the Demons as they ran their winning streak to seven.

Golden junior Cole Harris (4) comes around a pick by teammate Kayden Sound on Green Mountain senior Don Chu on Tuesday night during the Demons’ road victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

“Our whole goal and talk this week is hunger,” Anderson said. “Play with hunger. You have to do that every single night.”

Golden continues its conference schedule Thursday at Arvada. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Bulldogs. The Demons host No. 7 Valor Christian (10-4, 6-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in a game that could decide the conference champion.

“We’ve just got to keep playing the aggressive defense we’ve been playing,” said Sund of how Golden would keep its winning streak going.

The Demons rallied in the fourth quarter Jan. 10 to take a 46-44 victory from Valor on the Eagles’ home court the first time around. It was the first win over Valor on the basketball court for Golden.

Green Mountain heads to the foothills for its next league game. The Rams face Conifer at 7 p.m. Thursday. Fritts finished with a team-high 22 points for Green Mountain against Golden, but 16 of those points came in the second half after the Demons had the game well in hand.

Golden sophomore Kayden Sund spots up for a 3-pointer during the first half Tuesday night at Green Mountain High School. The Demons ran their winning streak to seven games with a 69-35 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — No. 1 ThunderRidge girls basketball was able to survive and pull out the win, 53-47, against No. 3 Grandview on Tuesday night.

The Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 6-0 run, but Grandview was able to work their way back into the game thanks to a frenzied, full-court press. The two teams went back and forth until Grandview took a 22-21 lead into halftime.

During a timeout in the second quarter, as her team was withstanding a relentless barrage of a defense, ThunderRidge head coach Paula Krueger encouraged her team to calm down, take a deep breath and not panic. She asked her team, “Who’s the best team in Colorado right now?”

ThunderRidge did their best to prove it, going on an 11-2 run in the third quarter to take a 10-point lead. They took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter which Grandview couldn’t overcome.

ThunderRidge’s Taylor Rusk led all scorers, dropping 17 points on the Wolves. Madison Ward added 11 points for the Grizzlies.

Michaela Onyenwere led the way for Grandview with 17 points, and Kennede Brown contributed 11.

PARKER — No. 5-ranked Highlands Ranch girls basketball handled Legend 91-41 on Tuesday.

LITTLETON — Heritage boys basketball upset No. 7 Mountain Vista on Tuesday, 77-68.

THORNTON — No. 10 Fossil Ridge had four players score in double figures as the SaberCats beat Horizon 77-50 on Tuesday.

Braxton Bertolette led the way with 19 points, while Ryan Quaid added 17 and 10 rebounds. Zacc Drovdal had 16 points, and Andrew Semadeni scored 11.

Michael Skinner led Horizon with 20 points.

AURORA — Four players scored at least 10 points as top-ranked Regis Jesuit beat Douglas County 87-49 on Tuesday.

Bryan Staerkel and Vaughn Samson each had 12 points, Mark Reininger added 11, and Taylor Kallsen scored 10 for Regis.

COLORADO SPRINGS — De’Aundre Twilley had 26 points and 18 rebounds to lead Mitchell boys basketball past The Classical Academy on Tuesday with an 80-62 win.

Jamel Jones added 16 points, Keven Rovnan added 14 and Josh Duke scored 10.

Lutheran’s Josh Clausen. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)

Lutheran wideout Josh Clausen, who climbed the career receiving records during his time in high school, committed to Wyoming on Monday night.

The senior announced his decision on Twitter, saying, “I have decided that I will be playing football at the University of Wyoming next year.”

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Clausen was a four-year contributor for the Lions. He sits No. 4 in state history in terms of receptions (171), as well as receiving yards (3,523), and TD catches (45).

Last fall, he caught 58 catches for 1,211 yards and 19 touchdowns. The 19 scores are tied for the eighth-best performance in state history.

After the season, he was an all-state pick in Class 3A.

Clausen is the fifth known local player to commit to Wyoming, and follows Rampart kicker Tristan Bailey, who announced his choice over the weekend.

Wyoming has a long history of recruiting Colorado, including the wide receiver position. Wideouts on last seasons roster included Grandview grad Tanner Gentry and Palmer grad Dominic Rufran.

Cherry Creek wide receiver Joseph Parker is among Wyoming’s 2015 commits from Colorado.