Overland, which won last season’s title, leads the 5A boys basketball ranking. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

Overland, Longmont, Colorado Springs Christian, Sanford and Fleming lead CHSAANow.com’s preseason 2015-16 boys basketball rankings.

Of the group, Overland, Colorado Springs Christian and Sanford won championships last season. Longmont and Fleming finished as a runner-up.

Overland was the lone unanimous selection as the No. 1 team, and the Trailblazers lead the Class 5A poll with all 15 first-place votes. They return probably the top player in the state in senior De’Ron Davis, who recently committed to Indiana.

Overland went 23-5 last season in winning 5A over ThunderRidge. Davis was the 5A player of the year last season.

Behind Overland is Legend, a team which reached the Great 8 last season. The Titans return their top six scorers, who were all juniors last season.

In the preseason No. 3 spot, by the narrowest of margins, is ThunderRidge. Last season’s runner-up, who spent a significant time in the No. 1 5A spot during the regular season, figure to be led by Wyoming commit Austin Mueller.

George Washington is No. 4, and Rangeview rounds out the top-5. Regis Jesuit, Denver East, Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest and Dakota Ridge comprise the rest of the 5A preseason top-10.

Longmont is No. 1 in the preseason 4A poll. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

In 4A, Longmont received 14 of the 19 first-place votes to lead that classification’s preseason ranking. The Trojans return reigning 4A player of the year Justinian Jessup, a Boise State commit.

Valor Christian, under the guidance of new coach Troy Pachner, is second, and got two first-place votes. Lewis-Palmer also received a first-place vote, and is third. Pueblo Central, and it’s two Division I commits, is No. 4. Golden rounds out the top-5.

Defending champion Air Academy received two first-place votes and is No. 7 to begin the year.

Colorado Springs Christian leads the 3A ranking with nine of the 13 first-place votes. Colorado Academy and Harvard commit Justin Bassey, the reigning 3A player of the year, are second with four first-place votes.

In 2A, defending champion Sanford leads the way with nine of the 10 first-place votes. Their roster includes reigning 2A player of the year Miles Caldon. Resurrection Christian, runner-up a season ago, is second, and got the other first-place vote.

The 1A preseason poll is led by Fleming, which received six first-place votes. Defending champion Holly is second, and received two first-place votes.

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

LOVELAND — Casey Fletcher got in foul trouble. In fact, he didn’t even attempt a field goal until the final two minutes, but the Holly junior came through with a critical tiebreaking basket with 1:34 on the clock, giving the Wildcats a 36-34 lead in the 1A Final 4 at the Budweiser Events Center. His teammates did the rest in pushing Holly past Jim Elliot Christian 41-37 and into the state finals for the first time since 1951.

After Holly (22-3) jumped on the Warriors 11-5 in the first quarter, Jim Elliot (22-3) muscled back in taking a 23-20 lead. Then, the Warriors kicked off the third quarter in style, taking a 32-22 lead over the No. 2 seeded Wildcats. Jim Elliot’s work on the glass with the Bogner brothers, Connor and Matt, and the team’s defensive ability in mostly smothering Holly’s explosive guards, allowed them to control the game in stretches.

“They were in our face the whole night and they rebound,” Holly coach Dusty Heck said. “That is a hard rebounding team. We knew coming in that we had to box out and we struggled with it. That was the toughest game, rebounding-wise, that we’ve had all year.”

Jim Elliot continued to apply heavy defensive pressure on the Wildcats, forcing Holly out of rhythm, and the Warriors took a 34-27 lead with six minutes remaining. That’s when the tide turned as those explosive Holly guards, Yaniel Vidal (10 points), Bryan Ortiz (12), and Sigi Avalos (8), finally got on track as they erupted for a 14-3 final run to seal the semifinals victory.

“I’ve got Yaniel and Sigi,” Heck said. “They are sophomores and they don’t play like sophomores. Bryan has been playing with a torn ACL, MCL all year. The heart that kid has showed, wow. I truly believe Holly has three of the best guards in 1A.”

“Our guards have the best handles and they all can shoot,” Fletcher raved.

Of course, the trio got help from Fletcher as well as he corralled a blocked shot, then layed it in to give Holly the late lead.

“He doesn’t shoot much for us, but it seems like when he does shoot it’s usually at a big point of the game,” Heck said of the timely basket. “It was a great, great team effort. Every single one of them believed. Even when we were still down they were saying, ‘we’ve got this, we’ve got this.”

Holly not only got the win, but now they get a crack at winning a state championship in boys basketball for the first time since 1951, when they beat Sanford 42-38 in the smallest classification at the time, the B division. The Wildcats will face Fleming at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Holly’s second state finals ever.

Connor Bogner led Jim Elliot with 13 points in defeat. Tanner Smith had 11.

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(5) Fleming 55 (1) Sangre de Cristo 52

The Wildcats ruined the Thunderbirds’ perfect season using clutch free throws down the stretch to pull out an exciting Final 4 showdown victory.

Fleming (19-4) trailed 30-22 at the break, but made a few more plays down the stretch during a tense final few minutes as the teams traded constant leads.

The Wildcats were led by Jaxon King, a sophomore guard who scored 16 points. Darian Wilening had 15. Fleming will be making their first ever appearance in the boys basketball state finals. They only have one senior on the team.

ThunderRidge took down No. 1 Regis Jesuit last week, and took over the top spot in the Class 5A boys basketball poll this week.

The Grizzlies received 21 of the 22 first-place votes and amassed 219 total points in rising to the top of CHSAANow.com’s ranking. They beat Regis Jesuit 59-36 on Tuesday.

Regis dropped to No. 2. Behind them, Overand (No. 3) and Eaglecrest (No. 4) held steady while Rock Canyon moved up to No. 5.

Rangeview jumped up four places to No. 6, Dakota Ridge fell to No. 7 and two newcomers were next — eighth-ranked Mountain Vista and No. 9 Cherokee Trail. Chaparral rounds out the 5A ranking.

There was little change to 4A, where Longmont continued to be a unanimous No. 1 selection.

In 3A, Grand Valley joined at No. 9. Faith Christian remained atop that poll.

Likewise, the No. 1 teams in 2A (Resurrection Christian) and 1A (Sangre de Cristo) also stayed the same.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will be the final polls of the regular season.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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 No. 10 in this week’s 5A boys basketball rankings. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Rangeview has joined this week’s Class 5A boys basketball ranking at No. 10.

The Raiders, who are riding an eight-game winning streak, totaled 18 points to crack CHSAANow.com’s ranking.

The 5A poll continued to be led by Regis Jesuit, which got 18 of the 20 first-place votes in the classification. ThunderRidge, which got the other two first-place votes, stayed put at No. 2. Those two teams play on Tuesday.

Overland bumped up one spot to No. 3, leaping Eaglecrest. Chaparral rounds out the top 5.

Also ranked this week in 5A: No. 6 Dakota Ridge, No. 7 Rock Canyon, No. 8 Denver East and No. 9 Fossil Ridge.

In 4A, Longmont extended its stay atop the poll. The Trojans are a unanimous pick with all 20 first-place votes following their one-point win over then-No. 2 Holy Family.

Golden returned to the No. 2 spot in 4A this week, just ahead of Holy Family, which fell to No. 3.

The 4A poll added Air Academy (No. 9) and Pueblo South (No. 10) this week.

For the third time in three weeks, there is a new No. 1 atop the 3A poll after Lutheran was upset by Jefferson Academy last week.

Faith Christian makes a return after garnering nine of the 15 first-place votes. Colorado Springs Christian, another former No. 1, got the other six first-place votes and is No. 2 this week. Lutheran dropped to No. 3, while Jefferson Academy is No. 4.

That ranking added Alamosa (No. 10) this week.

Elsewhere, Resurrection Christian (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A) both stayed atop their respective rankings.

The 2A poll added Sedgwick County. 1A added Kit Carson. Both are ranked tenth this week.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

Lutheran is now No. 1 in the 3A poll. (Courtesy of Lutheran HS)

For the second straight week, there’s a new team atop the Class 3A boys basketball rankings.

Lutheran knocked off Faith Christian, last week’s No. 1, with a 65-55 win on Saturday. Monday, the Lions received eight of the 14 first-place votes and totaled 128 points in taking over atop that poll.

Faith Christian dropped to second, just ahead of Colorado Springs Christian, which occupied the top spot prior to Faith. Colorado Academy, the preseason No. 1 team in 3A, is fourth this week and Jefferson Academy rounds out the top five.

With Lutheran, Faith, CA and Jefferson Academy all hailing from the 3A Metro, it means that league currently has four of the top five teams in 3A. No. 8 Kent Denver gives the league five ranked teams.

In 5A, Regis Jesuit remained a unanimous No. 1 pick. ThunderRidge (No. 2) and Eaglecrest (No. 3) continued to follow the raiders.

Overland bumped up one spot to No. 4, and Rock Canyon moved up to No. 5.

Chaparral also moved up, to No. 6, while Dakota Ridge fell to No. 7 following its first loss.

Denver East is up to No. 8, Fossil Ridge is now No. 9 and Monarch joined the poll at No. 10.

The 4A poll continued to be led by Longmont. That ranking added No. 8 D’Evelyn and No. 10 Lewis-Palmer this week.

Resurrection Christian (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A) held firm atop their respective polls.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

Faith Christian is now the No. 1 team in Class 3A. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Faith Christian has taken over as the new No. 1 team in the Class 3A boys basketball rankings, while Resurrection Christian is now atop the 2A poll.

Faith (12-1) received 11 of the 14 first-place votes in 3A to leap over former No. 1 Colorado Springs Christian in the CHSAANow.com poll. The Eagles totalled 128 points to CSCS’s 124. CSCS is No. 2 this week.

The 3A poll added No. 8 St. Mary’s, which knocked off Colorado Springs Christian last week, and No. 10 Moffat County.

Resurrection Christian (12-0) got seven of the 10 first-place votes in 2A to jump Sanford. Voters were apparently impressed by the way the Cougars handled then-No. 3 Highland on Friday, moving them up over Sanford, which is also unbeaten (11-0).

2A added Yuma at No. 9 this week.

The other No. 1 teams stayed put: Regis Jesuit (5A), Longmont (4A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A).

The 5A ranking added Fossil Ridge at No. 10, Denver South joined 4A at No. 9, and 1A added Sierra Grande (No. 9).

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

Rock Canyon has returned to CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A boys basketball rankings. The Jaguars are No. 8 in this week’s poll.

They were last ranked just prior to the break, but fell out last week. Rock Canyon’s return means the Continental has five ranked teams for the fourth straight poll.

Elsewhere in 5A, Regis Jesuit remained a unanimous No. 1 selection with all 16 first-place votes. In fact, teams Nos. 1-4 stayed put, including No. 2 ThunderRidge, No. 3 Dakota Ridge and No. 4 Eaglecrest.

Overland returned to 5A’s top-5, while Chaparral dropped one place to No. 6.

Mountain Vista is No. 7, Denver East is No. 9 and Montbell is No. 10.

The four other No. 1 teams also remained the same: Longmont (4A), Colorado Springs Christian (3A), Sanford (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A).

In 4A, Pueblo West (No. 8) and Sierra (No. 9) joined this week. The lone newcomer in 3A this week was Manitou Springs (No. 10), while 2A added Caliche (also No. 10).

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

Monroe Porter, left, and Legend joined the 5A poll at No. 9 this week. Dakota Ridge, meanwhile, is up to No. 3. (Dennis Pleuss)

Legend and Denver East have joined CHSAANow.com’s boys basketball rankings in Class 5A this week. The Titans are No. 9, and the Angels are No. 10.

Legend, 9-3 this season, has won seven consecutive games. It plays at No. 8 Mountain Vista on Friday.

Denver East, meanwhile, returned to the poll after a short hiatus. At 5-6, the record is somewhat deceiving. Three of the losses came at an out-of-state tournament, and a fourth, to Chaparral, came in a wild double-overtime matchup. They own wins over Legend and No. 2 ThunderRidge.

Regis Jesuit continued its stay atop the 5A poll, and are a unanimous pick with 16 first-place votes. The Raiders are 10-0. ThunderRidge also kept its No. 2 spot.

Behind those two, however, the movement began.

Dakota Ridge (11-0) shot up to No. 3, and Eaglecrest bumped up one place to No. 4. Chaparral rounds out the top five.

As was the case before the break, a total of five teams from the Continental League are ranked. With that league now in the thick of its schedule, it should be a battle every night.

Each of the other No. 1 teams also stayed put. Those are Longmont (4A), Colorado Springs Christian (3A), Sanford (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A).

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

ThunderRidge is among five teams from the Continental League ranked in 5A this week. (Dennis Pleuss)

The Continental League has an early grip on the Class 5A boys basketball rankings.

With changes this week, league members now own the top three spots in CHSAANow.com’s poll. A total of five Continental teams are ranked this week.

The group is led by Regis Jesuit, which continued to lead the 5A poll. ThunderRidge remained at No. 2, and Chaparral moved up one place to No. 3.

Also ranked from the Continental League are No. 9 Mountain Vista and No. 10 Rock Canyon. Additionally, Legend received votes this week.

The Centennial League has three teams ranked — No. 4 Overland, No. 5 Eaglecrest and No. 8 Cherry Creek. No other league has multiple members ranked this week.

In 4A, Valor Christian and Conifer had both joined.

The Eagles joined at No. 8 following a 77-59 win over then-No. 3 Pueblo Central on Friday. The Lobos, meanwhile, are No. 10 after starting the season 8-0.

Elsewhere in 4A, Air Academy moved up two spots from No. 5 to No. 3, and Pueblo South jumped from ninth to fourth. Palmer Ridge, 6-0 this season, rounds out the top five after moving up from No. 8.

Longmont retained its perch on top of the 4A poll.

The three other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Colorado Springs Christian (3A), Sanford (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A).

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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

Troy Green (24) and Montbello are ranked No. 8 in Class 5A this week. (Dennis Pleuss)

Montbello and Mountain Vista have joined this week’s boys basketball rankings in Class 5A.

The Warriors are No. 8 in CHSAANow.com’s rankings this week, while the Golden Eagles are No. 9. Both teams are 5-1.

That wasn’t the only change. Top-ranked Regis Jesuit and No. 2 ThunderRidge stayed put, but Overland moved up to No. 3 after a solid showing at an out-of-state tournament.

Chaparral moved into the top-5 following a big win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest on Friday. Chaparral is No. 4 this week, Eaglecrest is No. 5.

Cherry Creek bumped up three places to No. 6, Dakota Ridge also moved up to No. 8 and Rock Canyon remained ranked at No. 10.

In 4A, the changes continued. Pueblo Central spear-headed the movement with its jump to No. 3 this week, while Mead (No. 6), Palmer Ridge (No. 8) and Evergreen (No. 10) are all newcomers.

Colorado Springs Christian (3A) and Sanford (2A) both stayed put atop their respective rankings this week.

In 1A, top-ranked McClave lost to unranked Wiley last week. As a result, McClave dropped to No. 6 and Wiley is No. 10 in this week’s poll.

It also left a gap at the top, where Sangre de Cristo is now the No. 1 team. But voters were split, as a total of six teams received first-place votes this week.

Arickaree/Woodlin (No. 8) also joined the 1A poll.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

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

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