Tosjanae Bonds has been stuffing the stat sheet of late, and it has resulted in two state records and one amazing quadruple-double for the senior girls basketball player from Far Northeast.
Bonds, who is averaging 24.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.8 steals per game, began her most recent tear by setting the single-game steals mark with 21 against Kennedy on Jan. 31. The previous record was 20 — a mark she herself set last season.
The next game, on Feb. 8, Bonds popped off for 40 points and 18 rebounds (both career highs) against Denver East — and 10 assists and 10 steals. No records are kept of quadruple-doubles, but it is surely a short list in Colorado high school girls basketball history.
Her streak continued the very next game, on Feb. 10, when Bonds set the career steals record. Bonds entered the year 11th on the all-time steals list with 423 through her first three seasons, needing 116 to break the career record of 539, set by Conifer’s Alison Gorrell from 2007-11.
On Monday — one steal shy of the record with 115 so far in the 2019-20 season — Bonds broke through with 18 steals against Denver North, giving her 556 career steals. She added 17 more to her career total in a win over Prairie View, meaning she now has 573 (and counting) steals in her career.
This season, Bonds has recorded 10 double-doubles and three triple-doubles. Her 24.8 points per game lead the state, regardless of classification.
Welcome back hoops fans! Mother Nature took control of things last week and slowed our pace but we’re heading into the home stretch of the regular season, last week’s games will be made up, and league titles are on the line! Let’s get after it:
The Look Back
Monday, Feb. 10
C-R-A-W-L-E-D up 1-25 North last night to Mead to check out our 4A No. 1 for the first time this season. They didn’t let The Game of the Night crew down as Ball Fever got to join Blake Olson on the call once again.
Frederick did what they could to slow the game’s pace with some long possessions playing keep away and not letting Mead get out and “go”! Worked well at times and Mead had 31 first-half points but then exploded for a 41-point second half walking away with a 72-35 win.
Mead is stacked, folks! Young super sophs Shiers and Knusen along with Ward, Jacobs, and Maher’s leadership will make this team a tough “out” come tournament time for sure.
Discovery Canyon, who gave Cheyenne Mountain their first loss of the season last week, look for another big league win vs Lewis Palmer getting the big one’s started at 6pm!
Boulder dropped a couple spots to No. 9 and face a talented Horizon squad. The Panthers will have to attempt to contain Horizon’s super soph Brock Wisne, who’s averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds per game.
No. 6 Fairview didn’t get to play a game last week due to weather and they hope there’s no rust against 12-7 Rocky Mountain.
Pueblo West did win their sole game last week but fell a couple notches in the 4A Top 10 poll and get a Pueblo South squad who’s hungry for a win at 3-15.
Christopher Speller, of No. 1 Rangeview, picked up a college offer from Mesa Univ this week and the Raiders talented roster is home vs. Brighton this night.
A little A-Town “braggin rights” with Vista Peak and Gateway! Another fun atmosphere in D-Town will be Denver South and Lincoln…
The “show” know as the No. 1 Mead Mavericks head to Fort Morgan. The Mavs won round one of this match by more than 30!
Is it possible to a “quiet” 15-3 and No. 3 ranking in 4A? Well that’s exactly what Longmont is doing and they rolled Centaurus by 20 in the first game earlier this season.
A little late 7:30pm action down south in No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain facing Sand Creek for round two of their tangle…Cheyenne Mountain won the first game by only 5. This will be good!
Wednesday, Feb. 12
No. 3 Smoky Hill gets us started this night vs. league foe Mullen. The Mustangs will try to slow down the high flying Buffaloes.
Golden, 4A No. 7, has a big league game against Green Mountain who won the first match in an upset by 4 points at home. Golden will look for revenge on home floor!
Eaglecrest has dropped from our Top 10 sitting at No. 11 and they will try to prove they belong vs. No. 2 league foe Grandview. The Raptors are 5-5 in league play so no shot at the Centennial title but they’d love to play spoiler to the Wolves who have only one league loss.
In more #CentennialTough action the Arapahoe Warriors are riding high after a big weekend upset of Eaglecrest who the Fever Crew watched the Warriors play tough on the road earlier in the season. There was no surprise Arap played tough in the 1-point win at home. But this time Arap travels to hot Cherry Creek who is now up to No. 4 in 5A.
Ralston Valley dropped two notches to No. 5 after a last second loss last week to Columbine on the road and now they look to bounce back vs. Lakewood.
Valor, who remained at No. 8 in 5A, have a big one against Dakota Ridge who is unbeaten in league play and Valor has one loss…can’t afford another!
The Fever Crew took in the Columbine upset of Ralston Valley and that win likely earned the Rebels the votes to jump back in our Top 10 at No. 7. They travel to Bear Creek to keep the momentum going.
Out late in A-Town??? No. 1 Rangeview puts the unbeaten overall and league record on the line on the road at 13-5 Aurora Central 7:30 p.m. late one!
Thursday, Feb. 13
Pueblo East, who took down 4A No. 8 Pueblo West in a big way Monday night, looks to keep their league run going vs. Pueblo Centennial.
No. 3 Longmont hosts Mountain View and looks to keep their streak alive.
This time Roosevelt will get their shot on the well documented No. 1 Mead Mavs!
Pueblo West will be angry after Monday’s loss to P West and host Pueblo County.
Friday, Feb. 14
Early 5:30 p.m. Denver action in Thomas Jefferson at East and Lincoln heading over to FNE (Montbello). The Spartans will try to handle East their first league loss in that one.
No. 9 Boulder travels to Loveland and No. 6 Fairview to Greeley West in our northwest squads who want to prove they belong and should stay in the 5A Top 10 convo!
Air Academy was down 34-7 the first time they lost to No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain earlier this season. They’ll need a much more confident start at home in order to stay in this one!
No love lost in this one! No. 10 Chaparral beat Thunder Ridge by 2 in early tournament play and they both come into this one with one league loss…Continental League title implications here!
No. 5 Ralston Valley gets league foe Bear Creek.
In its second huge game this week Dakota Ridge will try to make a Jeffco statement this time vs No. 7 Columbine.
Saturday, Feb. 15
Northfield, now up to No. 2 in 4A, has an intriguing games as 14-1 DSST Byers pays a visit at 2:30pm.
Beware Smoky Hill! Arapahoe is playing some of its best ball at the right season and this will be a tough game with great guard play once again!
Undersized Vista Peak gave all they had in Round 1 vs. No. 1 Rangeview at their place and they’ll have to dig even deeper if they stand a chance at the Raiders house Saturday afternoon.
No. 2 Grandview won their visit to Overland by 3 points and once again this will be a Centennial heavy weight bout.
The Raptors are a rare 5-5 in league play and No. 4 Cherry Creek is looking to stay in the Centennial title hunt…huge battle here!
In our night cap for Saturday No. 3 Longmont travels to Niwot to close out the week!
The league play is hot and coming down to the wire, folks! This week will tell us a lot and next week we’ll identify some league champs!
Valor Christian senior Cole Sprout was named Colorado’s boys cross country runner of the year by Gatorade on Monday.
This marks the third consecutive season that Sprout has won the award. He has also been named the boys track athlete of the year by Gatorade the past two seasons.
Sprout won his third-straight Class 5A championship last fall, setting a course record with a time of 15:12.7. He won the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional championship (14:41.38), and was seventh at the NXN Final.
Sprout, who has a 3.98 GPA, has volunteered at the Denver Rescue Mission, and participated in a service-mission trip to Ethiopia.
“Cole is just a more complete version of what he’s always been,” said Valor Christian coach Greg Coplen. “Hard-working, high-character, selfless and the grittiest athlete I’ve ever coached.”
Sprout has signed to compete in cross country and track at Stanford, beginning this fall.
Four new teams joined this week’s boys basketball rankings: Columbine (5A), Chaparral (5A), Erie (4A) and Alamosa (3A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
This week’s girls basketball ranking added just two newcomers across the five classes: Meeker (2A) and Elbert (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Following its win over then-No. 1 Fort Collins on Saturday, Chaparral has moved up to the top of this week’s hockey rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, the poll will release each Monday.
LITTLETON — Which boys basketball team is atop the Class 5A Jeffco League standings midway through conference play?
The answer might be a bit surprising. Despite an overall losing record, Dakota Ridge (9-10, 4-0 in 5A Jeffco) is the only team in 5A Jeffco that hasn’t suffered defeat in conference play.
After Dakota Ridge’s 64-60 victory Saturday afternoon against area-rival Chatfield, the Eagles hold a 1-game lead over the likes of No. 3 Ralston Valley (16-3, 3-1), No. 8 Valor Christian (12-6, 3-1), Columbine (15-3, 3-1) and Arvada West (7-11, 3-1).
Chatfield junior Nate Jacobson (4) dribbles in front of Dakota Ridge junior Johnathan Junker and the Eagles’ crowd during the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We honestly just take it as we are just looking forward toward Valor on Wednesday (Feb. 12),” Dakota Ridge coach Sean Kovar said when asked about the 4-0 start in league play. “Yes, we’ve had a great start, but we know there is a lot of work left.”
That work includes facing Valor, Columbine and Ralston Valley over the span of eight days beginning Feb. 12 with a home game against Valor. Dakota Ridge is then at Columbine on Friday, Feb. 14. The three-game stretch ends at home versus Ralston Valley on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Dakota Ridge has won 5-of-6 games after enduring a 5-game losing streak before winter break and 4-game losing streak before conference play began.
The Eagles looked to be in trouble against rival Chatfield (6-14, 0-5). The Chargers held a 23-9 lead early in the second quarter.
“We didn’t change anything really,” Kovar said of the Eagles fighting back from a double-digit deficit on the road. “We had to find away to get tougher and get stops (defensively). Our guys hit some big shots and found a way. I really don’t know how.”
Dakota Ridge chipped away trimming Chatfield’s lead to 37-29 at halftime. The Eagles trailed 48-43 heading to the fourth quarter. Then, it was Hunter Hickman time.
The junior caught on fire in the fourth quarter. He scored a dozen points in the final eight minutes. His bucket with 5:40 left in the fourth quarter gave Dakota Ridge the lead for good at 55-53.
Chatfield senior AJ Skarulis (12) has a strong take to the hole during the Saturday afternoon game against Dakota Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I didn’t plan on taking over,” said Hickman, which finished with a team-high 17 points. “Teammates got me open a lot and I hit my first couple. I didn’t hit a lot of shots in the first half, but my coaches kept on encouraging me and keeping me positive.”
Kovar agreed that it was a team effort that got Hickman hot to close out the come-from-behind victory.
“They set some great screens and we found a way to get him (Hickman) open looks,” Kovar said. “He is a great shooter, he stepped up knocked down some shots and his job.”
Chatfield had to endure another heartbreaking loss. The Chargers have suffered single-digit losses in every league game and lost two conference games in overtime.
Junior Nate Jacobson scored a team-high 17 points in the fifth straight loss for Chatfield. Sophomore Chase Miller had a nice game with 9 points for the Chargers.
Dakota Ridge’s Taeshaud Jackson Jr. had a big game with 16 points. The athletic 6-foot-6 junior spent a lot of time at the free-throw line making 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
“He (Jackson) is a game-changer for us,” Hickman said. “Everyone collapse on him when he is in the middle. It really makes my job a whole lot easier.”
Dakota Ridge senior Brayden Rhoades finished with 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers to get bragging rights for a year over rival Chatfield.
“It’s big. Play Chatfield is always special every year for us,” Hickman said. “We really wanted this one and we got it.”
Dakota Ridge senior Taeshaud Jackson Jr. (10) splits Chatfield sophomore Chase Miller (44) and junior Nate Jacobson (4) during the Eagles’ 64-60 road victory Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
GOLDEN — It’s simple math for Golden’s boys basketball team when it comes to winning the Class 4A Jeffco League title.
The Demons — No. 8 in the CHSAANow.com 4A boys basketball rankings — can reclaim the conference crown with wins over No. 10 Green Mountain, D’Evelyn and Wheat Ridge over the next two weeks.
“We keep talking about that we can only control what we can control,” Golden’s second-year coach Lou Vullo said after the Demons’ 59-53 home win Saturday afternoon against Evergreen. “We know if we win the next three games we would be in position to win the league. We don’t want to worry about anyone else helping us. We just want to win them all and win it (league title).”
Evergreen senior Cameron Morlan, right, elevates toward the rim as Golden freshman Alex Acevedo goes for the block during the first half Saturday at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Golden (14-6, 8-1 in 4A Jeffco) is 1-game ahead of rival and defending league champion Wheat Ridge (10-7, 6-2) in the standings. The Demons are trying to reclaim the league title it last won during the 2017-18 season.
Evergreen (11-7, 4-5) has morphed into a spoilers role. The Cougars can’t win the league title, but still has game ahead against Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain. Evergreen did give the Demons a challenge in the late afternoon game Saturday.
“Jeff does a great job. He is a very good coach,” Vullo said of Evergreen’s second-year coach Jeff Dolan. “I knew going into this game it was going to be very tough.”
What made things a little easier was the early 3-point shooting by Golden senior Kevin Mulligan. The senior guard drained three 3-pointers in the span of 80 seconds to get the offense going for the Demons.
“I’ve just been practicing a lot after practice,” Mulligan said of his 3-point shot. “I finally hit some 3s. I’m really not a 3-point shooter, but they finally came. I was just letting them go.”
Mulligan didn’t hit a 3-pointer after the first quarter, but finished with a game-high 21 points.
“We tell him (Mulligan) has had to take more shots,” Vullo said. “He tries to facilitate and get to the basket, but he has a really nice 3-point shot and needs to take that more often.”
Evergreen junior Griffin Lauritano (1) takes a jumper over Golden senior Ben McLaughlin (2) on Saturday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
What the Demons did shoot plenty of in the final quarter to seal the victory was free throws. Golden was 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final quarter to hold off the Cougars.
“We normally do a drill in practice that gets us really tired and then we shoot free throws,” Mulligan said. “It’s good we it them.”
Golden’s last field goal came from senior Jack Anderson with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Anderson was able to lose an Evergreen defender in the paint and put up a scoop shot to put the Demons up 54-50.
“He (Anderson) is just kind of a squirmy little guy,” Mulligan said of his fellow senior. “He gets in there. Teams forget about him and he shoots it.”
Evergreen junior Aaron Browne had a 3-point shot with under 20 seconds to play that could have tied the game. However the shot was off the mark. Golden made 3-of-4 free throws in the final seconds to extend the winning margin to six points.
Evergreen juniors Jackson Mott (14 points), Griffin Lauritano (12 points) and Jared Stiller (11 points) carried the Cougars offensively.
Freshman Alan Acevedo had another strong game off the bench for the Demons with 12 points. Senior Ben McLaughlin poured in all of his 8 points in the third quarter.
Golden hosts Green Mountain (14-5, 6-3) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Rams handed the Demons their lone conference loss back on Jan. 18. Evergreen has a non-league home game against Pomona at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Golden senior Jack Anderson drives baseline on Evergreen senior Cooper Dyess during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Saturday afternoon. The Demons stayed 1-game ahead of rival Wheat Ridge in the conference standings. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
