DENVER — DSST-Green Valley Ranch captured the Confluence League district tournament with a 67-38 win over Eagle Ridge Academy on Friday.

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George Washington is No. 9 in the 5A boys basketball rankings this week. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

The President’s Day edition of the CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball poll is looking, well, more presidential.

George Washington, who started the season as a top-five team, has rejoined the 5A rankings at No. 9 thanks to a 104-97 shootout win over Denver East on Saturday.

Losing five of their first six games of the year saw the Patriots slip out of the polls as they appeared destined for a more mediocre season than most thought.

Then league play began and things got much better much faster.

George Washington is undefeated in a tough Denver Prep League which has gotten the attention of the voters.

Rangeview remains the top team in the 5A poll and ThunderRidge made an impressive jump this week, landing at No. 4. That’s three spots better than last week and a win over No. 3 Regis Jesuit probably had a lot to do with it.

Lewis-Palmer hangs on to the top spot in the 4A poll this week. The Rangers have rattled off 19 straight wins and with two games remaining have already wrapped up a share of the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference regular season title.

No new teams broke into the 4A rankings this week.

DSST-Stapleton remains the No. 1 team in 3A with Faith Christian right on its heels. The Eagles are the only blemish on the Knights’ 18-1 record.

At No. 10, Grand Valley cracks its way back into the 3A top 10 this week.

Sanford is still the No. 1 team in the 2A poll, holding off Resurrection Christian and Sedgwick County, the other two undefeated teams in the class.

Crowley County is the lone newcomer in 2A, coming in at No. 10.

Defending 1A champion Holly maintains their spot as the No. 1 team this week. Cheyenne Wells is a new face to the 1A poll as they land at No. 10.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

Overland boys basketball is No. 2 in this week’s 5A rankings. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)

Overland is back in the game.

The Trailblazers now sit at the No. 2 spot in the Class 5A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.

Why the sudden jump?

A 22-point win over Eaglecrest probably had something to do with it. The defending state champions made sure the rest of the class didn’t forget that they are still quite good at basketball.

The 5A rankings also saw a familiar face return as Denver East comes back in at No. 10.

Lewis-Palmer held on to the top spot in the 4A rankings, and a 10-point win over Vista Ridge helped their cause.

After weeks of receiving votes, Sierra finally made their way into the 4A poll, landing at No. 9.

The Denver School of Science and Tech – Stapleton also hangs on to their No. 1 ranking. They remain at the top of the 3A poll, holding off a Faith Christian team that is actually the lone blemish on the Knights’ 16-1 record.

Colorado Academy has played its way back into the 3A rankings, coming in at No. 10.

Ellicot and Haxtun join the 2A poll this week, coming in at No. 8 and No. 10 respectively. Sanford remains the top team in 2A, taking nine of 10 first-place votes.

Defending 1A champion Holly continues to gain momentum as they tighten their grip on the No. 1 spot.

Sierra Grande made a three-spot move this week, landing at No. 6.

Rocky Mountain Lutheran is the lone newcomer to the 1A rankings, coming in at No. 10.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

Lewis-Palmer is the new No. 1 team in 4A boys basketball. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)

There are two brand new No. 1 teams in this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.

Lewis-Palmer ascends to the top spot of the Class 4A rankings while defending 1A champion Holly now sits atop the 1A poll.

The Rangers have been one of the most dominant teams in 4A this season. They took down league foe Sand Creek last week, getting their second double-digit win over the Scorpions this season.

They assume the top spot after Pueblo South suffered a shocking loss to Air Academy on Saturday.

Valor Christian took over the No. 2 spot thanks to avenging a Jan. 8 loss to Golden.

Though several teams changed position in the 4A poll, the 10 teams making up the rankings remain the same from a week ago.

Undefeated Rangeview still holds the No. 1 ranking in 5A with Eaglecrest sticking right behind them at No. 2.

Rock Canyon jumped three spots to land at No. 4 this week thanks in part to a one-point win over ThunderRidge on Friday.

Cherokee Trail rejoins the 5A poll at No. 10 after falling out of the rankings last week.

The Denver School of Science and Tech-Stapleton hangs on to the top spot in the 3A poll, but Faith Christian jumped two spots to land right behind them at No. 2.

Manitou Springs also made a two-spot jump which put the Mustangs at No. 7 ahead of their league showdown with defending 3A champ, No. 3 Colorado Springs Christian School.

No new teams were added to the 3A poll this week.

Sanford is still the top team in the 2A poll, snagging 10 of 11 first-place votes this week.

Landing at No. 9, Highland is the lone newcomer to the 2A rankings.

Holly’s taking over the top 1A is all the more impressive considering the team is playing nothing but road games this year.

Shining Mountain made the biggest jump in 1A this week, coming in at No. 7 which is three spots higher than a week ago.

Faith Baptist joins the 1A rankings at No. 10 this week.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

The Denver School of Science and Tech (Stapleton) is the new top team of the Class 3A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.

The Knights, who sit at 13-1 overall on the season, have rising in the ranks all year and have been knocking at the door of the top spot. A St. Mary’s win over previous No. 1, Colorado Springs Christian, is all they need to finally begin their reign at the top of the 3A poll.

As a result of the loss to St. Mary’s, the Lions dropped one spot to No. 2. A similar situation happened last year when CSCS was toppled by St. Mary’s and fell out of the top spot, but then went undefeated en route to winning the 3A state title.

Grand Valley is the lone newcomer to the poll this week. The Cardinals come in at No. 10 after falling out of the rankings a few weeks ago.

Legend is No. 10 in this week’s boys basketball rankings. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)

The 5A poll looks very similar to what it did last week. Rangeview escaped a scare from Aurora Central and was able to hang on to the top spot. The only change from a week ago is that the Legend Titans rejoin the rankings, landing at No. 10.

The same consistency applies to this week’s 4A rankings. Since grasping the No. 1 spot, Pueblo South held on to the position, going 2-0 last week.

Windsor was the only team to play their way into the 4A poll as they debut at No. 9.

Undefeated Sanford still sits atop the 2A poll, taking eight of the 10 first-place votes this week. Crowley County joins the 2A top 10 at No. 7.

Fleming remains the team to beat in 1A after winning both of their games last week. Shining Mountain joins the 1A rankings, landing at No. 10.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

DENVER — Fifth-ranked Denver Science & Tech-Green Valley Ranch beat Eagle Ridge Academy 88-44 in a Class 3A game on Tuesday.

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Pueblo South is the new No. 1 team in 4A boys basketball. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The Pueblo South Colts are putting together a nice season. They carry their momentum into this week as they take over the No. 1 spot in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings.

Their week was highlighted with a 79-51 win over Pueblo Central on Tuesday. The Colts looked absolutely dominant and are legitimate 4A title contenders.

Former No. 1 Longmont fell to No. 3 after losing to the FNE Warriors on Saturday.

The 4A poll saw two newcomers this week as Holy Family and Rifle come in at No. 8 and No. 10 respectively.

There were very few changes in the 5A poll. Rangeview proved to be the real deal after taking a hold of the No.1 ranking last week. They topped Regis Jesuit 60-52 to prove that they are indeed worthy of the state’s top spot.

The Raiders fell one spot to No. 4 as a result of the loss.

Rock Canyon climbed one spot to No. 7, trading spaces with Chatfield, who gave Denver East all the Angels could handle Monday.

There were no new teams added to the 5A rankings.

Colorado Springs Christian School hangs on to the top overall spot in the 3A rankings as they prepare for a big Tri-Peaks League showdown with St. Mary’s on Friday. The Pirates handed the Lions their only loss last season and the Lions will be out to even the score.

Faith Christian jumped three spots to No. 6 this week and the 3A poll saw one newcomer as the Manitou Springs Mustangs come in at No. 10.

Sanford is still the No. 1 team in 2A this week after cruising to a 63-35 win over Centauri. The top five seeds from last week all maintained their position.

The bottom five spots saw some shuffling, but overall the 10 ranked teams from last week remained in this week’s poll.

Fleming takes over the top spot in the 1A after defending champion Holly and Wiley handed South Baca its first two losses of the year.

Kit Carson jumps from No. 4 to No. 2 and Holly jumped from No. 6 to No. 3.

No new teams played their way into the 1A rankings this week.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

Rangeview is the new No. 1 team in the 5A boys basketball rankings. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)

There is a new king of the Class 5A CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings. The undefeated Rangeview Raiders assumed the top spot after beating No. 5 ThunderRidge and No. 10 Cherokee Trail in the first full week of competition since the winter break.

To get to the top spot, they also got some help from Regis Jesuit, who got coach Ken Shaw’s 700th win by upsetting Overland. The Trailblazers would drop their second game of the season later in the week as they fell to Eaglecrest, who climbs to No. 2.

Regis Jesuit climbed to No. 3 thanks to the win over the Trailblazers, but an upset loss to Fossil Ridge Saturday night likely kept them from a higher ranking this week.

Though many teams changed spots from the previous set of rankings that was released Dec. 21, there were no new teams added to the 5A poll this week.

In 4A, Longmont remains the top team, getting 15 of 21 first-place votes. The other six went to a streaking Pueblo South team that has proven to be a legitimate contender in the class.

The Colts take over the No. 2 spot after Golden dispatched Valor Christian on Friday night.

The loss also saw Lewis-Palmer rise to No. 3. The Rangers looked impressive in their route of Sand Creek on Wednesday. They then had to battle for a tight road win against Vista Ridge on Friday. Despite losing the game, the Wolves jumped into this week’s poll at No. 10.

Evergreen also broke into the 4A rankings, coming in at No. 9.

Defending 3A champion CSCS remains at No. 1 in class, despite two losses at the City of Champions Tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The Denver School of Science and Tech is becoming a major presence in the 3A poll as both the Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch campuses made significant jumps this week.

Stapleton lands at No. 3 this week while Green Valley Ranch comes in at No. 6.

The Eaton Reds also made an impressive leap, landing at No. 5, up four spots from the previous rankings.

Liberty Common is the lone newcomer in 3A, landing at No. 10.

With 8 of 10 first-place votes, Sanford remains the top team in the 2A rankings.

Paonia made the biggest jump in the 2A poll, going from No. 8 to No. 5. The only new team for 2A this week is Dayspring Christian who rounds out the poll at No. 10.

The 1A poll was the only other set of rankings to see a new team emerge at the top. Thanks to a buzzer-beater loss to Sedgwick County on Saturday, Fleming fell out of the top spot and South Baca is the new top team in the class.

Rocky Mountain Lutheran is the lone team to break into the 1A poll as the Eagles come in at No. 10 this week.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

Doherty boys basketball jumped into the 5A rankings this week. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)

Going into the final CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings of 2015, the top teams from last week’s polls all remained in place.

And even though the top of the rankings look similar, new teams were added in all classes, giving some squads a momentum boost as the schools head into winter break.

In Class 5A, Overland came in as a unanimous choice at No. 1 fresh off winning the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

The top six teams from last week’s 5A poll all held their place as they are playing quality basketball heading into the break. It was Chatfield who made the biggest jump, going from No. 10 to No. 7, thanks in part to an overtime win against Palmer on Thursday.

An impressive looking Doherty team cracks the rankings this week after taking down Legend last week.

In 4A, the top teams are all playing high quality basketball. Longmont posted three impressive wins this week while Valor Christian won a nail-biter against Pueblo Central, surviving Mike Ranson’s 44-point performance.

Even with the loss, the Wildcats broke back into the rankings at No. 8.

Denver South and Mead were other two newcomers in 4A, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

Colorado Springs Christian remains at the top of the 3A poll. They didn’t see any official action last week, although they did compete at the City for Champions tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

There were two new additions to the 3A rankings as The Pinnacle comes in at No. 8 and Denver School of Science and Tech – Green Valley Ranch breaks in at No. 10.

Sanford received every first-place vote this week to hold their position atop the 2A rankings.

A win and a close loss to Ignacio was good enough for the voters to make Center the lone newcomer to the 2A rankings as they grabbed the No. 10 position this week.

Like all other classes, there was not a chance at the top of the 1A rankings this week as Fleming still comes in at No. 1. Longmont Christian did make quite a splash as a newcomer. Unranked last week, the Warriors came in at No. 4, even snagging a first-place vote along the way.

Front Range Baptist also broke into the 1A poll as they jump in at No. 10.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

First-place votes are in parentheses.

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

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

CSCS players get instructions from coach Mark Engesser (right) during practice. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs Christian School basketball coach Mark Engesser hates losing. Can’t stand it. His desire to win coupled with his players’ hard work and motivation helped the Lions come away with the Class 3A state championship last March.

And oh boy, do they want to get back to the top of that mountain.

It helps that the Lions are returning two all-state players in forward Sam Howard and guard Justin Engesser. It also helps that those two guys were also two of the primary catalysts of last year’s title team. This year, they take the court with not only the hope of winning another championship, but with the pressure of trying to repeat.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say pressure,” Howard said. “We always want to do our best and no matter what people expect of us, we want to do what we think we can do. We’re just going to focus on playing our best and staying humble and whatever happens, we’re okay with.”

Staying humble may be the key. In the first month and a half of last season, the Lions were barely tested. It looked like they were going to cruise through their regular season schedule without a blemish.

But then something unexpected happened. On Jan. 23, the Lions hosted Tri-Peaks rival St. Mary’s and things did not go as planned. The Pirates kept the game close and were able to come away with a 51-49 win, ending CSCS’s chance at a perfect season.

“Nobody wants to lose,” Justin Engesser said. “If we learn from that, I guess, mistake; it’s better that we learn it early in the season rather than in the state tournament.”

That loss to St. Mary’s set the tone for the remainder of the season. It was a great reminder that nothing is given and for the Lions to reach the level that they wanted, they would have to continue to get better through the course of the season.

Sam Howard (33) and Justin Engesser watch as Howard’s shot falls during practice. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“When you’re winning all of your games, (Coach Engesser) has no reason to yell at us,” Howard said. “When you lose, it really gets your attention. There’s a lot of stuff you can work on. We looked at the film of that game and that’s what really carried us. We saw where we were weak.”

And they improved those weaknesses.

Like in any classification, there’s no ease to getting through a state tournament. Schools such as Jefferson Academy, Colorado Academy and Kent Denver routinely play for state titles. There are also programs like Faith Christian that have the ability to rattle off multiple state championships in a row.

“I thought we played harder than some of those teams,” Coach Engesser said. “We were diving on the floor, taking charges, playing harder. If you play hard on every single possession, good things will happen.”

And they did happen. When it was all said and done, the Lions came away as champions. Now as CSCS comes into the 2015-16 season with the expectations of winning another title, it’s also feeling a little bit of that pressure to defend that title.

But which comes more into play, the pressure or the expectation?

“I think the expectation,” Coach Engesser said. “It was a great moment for those guys and they want to experience that again. Expecting that moment… I guess it puts pressure on you too. I’ll say both. Pressure and expectation.”

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Boys basketball preview

• Regular Season begins: Dec. 2
• Regular Season ends: Feb. 20
• Preseason rankings

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Class 5A

• Defending champion: Overland
• Runner-up: ThunderRidge
• Preseason No. 1: Overland
• Returning All-State Players: De’Ron Davis, Sr., Overland (1st team); Nathan Davis, Sr., Mullen (3rd); Monroe Porter, Sr., Legend (3rd); Colbey Ross, Jr., Eaglecrest (2nd).
• Championship: March 10-12, Coors Event Center, Boulder

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Class 4A

• Defending champion: Air Academy
• Runner-up: Longmont
• Preseason No. 1: Longmont
• Returning All-State Players: Khameron Davis, Sr., Valor Christian (2nd team); Chris Helbig, Sr., Holy Family (2nd); Cameron Horning, Sr., Glenwood Springs (3rd); Justinian Jessup, Sr., Longmont (1st); Michael Ranson, Sr., Pueblo Central (1st); D’Shawn Schwartz, Jr., Sand Creek (3rd); Jonathan Scott, Sr., Lewis-Palmer (1st); De’Aundre Twilley, Sr., Mitchell (3rd).
• Championship: March 10-12, Coors Event Center, Boulder

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Class 3A

• Defending champion: CSCS
• Runner-up: Colorado Academy
• Preseason No. 1: CSCS
• Returning All-State Players: Justin Bassey, Sr., Colorado Academy (1st team); Justin Engesser, Jr., CSCS (2nd); Sam Howard, Sr., CSCS (1st); Christian Hyatt, Sr., Colorado Academy (3rd); Jaydn Michael, Sr., DSST-Green Valley Ranch (3rd).
• Championship: March 11-12, Denver Coliseum, Denver

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Class 2A

• Defending champion: Sanford
• Runner-up: Resurrection Christian
• Preseason No. 1: Sanford
• Returning All-State Players: Miles Caldon, Sr., Sanford (1st team); Chance Canty, Sr., Sanford (2nd); Luke Fick, Sr., Resurrection Christian (1st); Wyatt Hayes, Sr., Ignacio (1st); Michael Stevenson, Jr., Resurrection Christian (2nd).
• Championship: March 11-12, Massari Arena, CSU-Pueblo

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Class 1A

• Defending champion: Holly
• Runner-up: Fleming
• Preseason No. 1: Fleming
• Returning All-State Players: Jaxon King, Jr., Feliming (2nd team); Trent Leoffler, Sr., Arickaree/Woodlin (3rd); Blake Meredith, Sr., Fleming (2nd); Joey Stahley, Sr., Fleming (3rd).
• Championship: March 11-12, Budweiser Events Center, Loveland