Ball Fever: OTs, upsets abound in boys basketball

ThunderRidge Regis Jesuit boys basketball

Some truly exciting overtime battles and more upsets ruled last week.

At this point, some of the upsets are not surprises at all but evidence of the parity which had many saying this season was “wide open” in Class 4A and 5A.

Let’s check out the week that was!

Week In Review

Tuesday, Feb. 10:

Zach Marburger was our guy on the scene for the “Goliath” 1 vs. 2 match up that Regis’ Coach Shaw compared to a state title game in the middle of the season. Big Nebraska-Omaha commit Zach Pirog led the way as the Grizzlies led from start to finish. A great night for Colorado Hoops! Check out Kai Casey’s action photos as the new No. 1 made it 10 in a row.
Who battles to a 21-18 OT session? George Washington and Lincoln in a DPL battle — that’s who! The Patriots are getting a lot from their top seven players and Jeremiah Hyppolite’s 23 point, 6 rebound effort led FIVE Patriots in double figure scoring as GW stayed unbeaten in league play with the 82-79 road win.
Boulder hosted Horizon and got a 18-point win in the important league win.
The upset theme continued as Matt Mathewes caught Mountain Vista cooling off Chaparral. Sixteen fourth quarter points by Brady Subart!
Andrew Romero’s 24 point, 11 rebound double-double moved Mountain Range to a 6-point win over Legacy.
Dan Morhmann was on hand as No. 4 Sierra wrapped up their league title Tuesday.
We’ve discussed this before — 4A teams need to watch this Ponderosa 4A squad that has been battling 5A Continental squads. Pondo went on the road and a 27-11 fourth quarter helped lock in the 53-48 win at Heritage.
4A No. 3 Holy Family stayed perfect in league play behind Luke Golter’s 17 and Chris Helbig’s 16 points in 21-point road win at Mead.
The beautiful “senior night” celebration at Montbello allowed the Fever Crew time to get from Regis over the Bellos and catch Denver South’s second half run that came up short due to Malik Hart’s 24 leading four Warriors in double-figure scoring on the night. Kur Awol scored 14, Sekou Cisse 13, and Pal Tut 13 in the win while Chudier Bile had a nice double-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds.
D’Evelyn was hot as of late but Wheat Ridge pulled the upset behind Xavier Dreiling’s 20 point, 10 rebound double-double.
Donovan Oldham’s 24 points helped Rampart pull off the tight 3-point victory over Palmer. Will Ross had a 16 point, 10 rebound effort in the loss for the Terrors.
Pueblo Central held off Pueblo East 58-55 as a game tying three just missed at buzzer. Kobi Betts and Michael Ranson both score 18 in the win.
“Stat-stuffin” night for Thomas Jefferson’s Josh McNair who scored 23 points along with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals in win over Denver West.
Daeziontae “Dee” Henderson put down a 27 point, 14 rebound effort for Thornton vs. Adams City in the Trojans win.
Charlie Hovasse was “feelin it” scoring 28 points and Jonathon Scott added 20 in Lewis-Palmer’s 9-point home win over Cheyenne Mountain.
Ray Ibarra’s 23 points helped Widefield take down rival Harrison 66-60. Quinzel Harding scored 21 in the loss.
4A No. 1 Longmont remained unbeaten and Justinnian Jessup led three in double figures with 15 points in win over Mountain View.

Wednesday, Feb. 11:

Thomas Neff scored 19 and dished out 7 assists in Arvada West’s 61-47 win over rival Columbine.
Grandview earned a 63-56 much needed win over Smoky Hill and Cooper Murphy’s 20 points, including five 3-point shots were big.
These upsets are a sign of the hoops getting good and teams improving late in the season! Matt Mathewes caught another as Chatfield upset No. 6 Dakota Ridge in a rivalry game.
Eaglecrest was having no part of the “upset-fest” early in the week and Jack Eberhard caught Colbey Ross’ 19 points in the win over Cherry Creek.
A young Arapahoe squad battled for a half but a 21-6 third quarter advantage pushed Overland to the win. Big De’Ron logged a 16 point, 10 rebound double-double while Reggie Gibson led all scorers with 22 points along with 5 assists.
A league title was on the line as a packed Rangeview gym watched the home squad take down Aurora Central by 16 points and remain unbeaten in league play. Elijah Blake led four Raiders in double figures with 15 and Ladarius Thomas had 20 in the loss. Both of these squads will be looking to prove their league can compete when tourney time rolls around!
Sand Creek dropped from our 4A coaches poll but will be dangerous come playoffs and D’Shawn Schwartz scored 18 points in their 12-point road win at Falcon.

Thursday, Feb. 12:

Lewis Palmer Discovery Canyon boys basketball

Evergreen gave Valor Christian all they could handle, even sending the game into OT but Valor won the extra session 12-2 for a 64-64 final where Jalen Sanders led four Eagles in double-figure scoring with 16.
Reportedly, Tyler Garcia scored his 28 points in three quarters at Castleview leading Rock Canyon to the 76-49 league win. Freshman Sam Masten added 15 points in the win.
Rangers seize control of 4A Pikes Peak and Caden Colson has your update with action shots.
Fairview’s 15-9 second quarter advantage was enough to earn the 50-48 win at Legacy on the night. Dalton Royer 16 in the loss.
Palmer Ridge shut down Vista Ridge only allowing 29 points and Robert Fernandez had 11 points, 9 rebounds.
D’Evelyn bounced back with a lopsided win over Green Mountain that included a 22-0 first quarter! Grant Witherspoon 17 and Charlie Davis 13 in the win.
Another OT match up and Mesa Ridge beat Mitchell 79-76 with Dylan Mileto scoring 25 points.
Marques Combs scored 11 in the low scoring affair as Palisade won 41-37 over Eagle Valley.
4A No. 1 Longmont jumped out to a 9-2 start and never looked back in the 16-point win over Thompson Valley. Kevin Mitchell led the way on this night with 22 points.

Friday, Feb. 13:

We mentioned last week that the Eaglecrest/Cherokee Trail match ups are becoming “must see” hoops in southeast Aurora. Their Friday night overtime tilt didn’t let folks down and Kham Brandon made the last second bucket won 46-45 for the Cougars. Blend Advili had a 17 point, 10 rebound double-double in the loss for the No. 4 Raptors.
Dakota Ridge made a come-back 5A Jeffco statement at Lakewood Friday night and Dennis Pleuss was there.
Arapahoe needed a conference win and Kyle Lucasiewicz 22 points, 5 rebounds was big in the home win over Smoky Hill by 8.
Daeziontae “Dee” Henderson has been a double-double machine for Thornton all season and his 29 point, 15 rebound effort vs. Prairie View helped earn the Trojans the win.
Former No. 1 Regis took “one on the chin” vs. ThunderRidge but came out swinging against visiting Chaparral and never stopped! Jack Eberhard was on the scene for the impressive 16 3-pointers.
Cherry Creek looked to hand Overland their 2nd league loss but the Trailblazers balance was on display at home with three players in double figure scoring led by big De’Ron’s 12 point, 17 rebound double-double night.
Monarch, now 18-3, got a strong win over Boulder at home 50-39 outscoring the Panthers by 9 in the final stage.
Fort Collins staked their claim on the Front Range winning a tight one 43-40 over No. 9 Fossil Ridge. Triston von Nieda had a 21 point, 13 rebound double-double and Ryan Quaid a 26 point, 16 rebound effort in the loss.
Pat Sullivan’s 23 points was huge on the Angel’s court but not enough as Highlands Ranch came up short 51-48 to Denver East. Brian Carey with 19 points and 6 assists in the win.
Elizabeth’s 32-19 fourth quarter with 18 points from Stuart Eurick earned the win at Fort Morgan 77-56.
Grand Junction stays steady with only one league loss after the 26 point win over Grand Junction Central.
Ryan Blodget’s 18 point, 13 rebound double-double had No. 3 Golden looking good in 16 point road win at Standley Lake.
Donovan Oldham’s 19 along with Andy Churchill’s 18 lifted Rampart by 21 over Pine Creek on the night.
The Fever Crew made it out to Brighton and the twitter account got a ton of laughs stating Aurora Central held Brighton to two touchdowns in the 29-14 win. If you like low scoring and defense … this was the one for you!
Seniors were shining as Tim Wyatt’s 20 and Jalen Davis’ 17 points helped Rangeview put up 95 as a team vs. Westminster.
Denver South relying heavily on their big guns and all four scored in double figures vs. Denver West highlighted by Chuck Gavin’s 14 point, 15 rebound double-double, Devante Loggins 14 point, 10 assist double-double, and Turner Dumas Peterson’s 17 points.
A different Warrior stepping up again as Pal Tut’s 17 points, 3 rebounds led the Warriors to easy win over Denver North.
Cheyenne Mountain only had one league victory but they came to play as they lost 69-67 to Sand Creek. “Give me those stats!”
Sierra just keeps on “trucking” down south unbeaten in league play beating Harrison by 28.

Saturday, Feb. 14:

I made the prediction that East would lock up another city title and get the win over GW at the Thunderdome Saturday but the young Patriots had other thoughts as sophomore Jervay Green scored 24 points with 3 assists and 3 steals leading to an exciting 76-73 win. The “ThunderDome” was packed and treated to city ball at its best with outstanding guard play and banging down low as East’s Jordan Willis again had a “monsta” double-double of 14 points, 17 rebounds in the loss.
Doherty wasn’t bothered with traveling north to Heritage Saturday while Brevin Brimble scored 19 with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the 11-point road win.
Valor Christian headed south to Cheyenne Mountain and held them to single digits in three of four quarters leading to a 74-42 final with Dylan McCaffrey scoring 17.

A Look Ahead:

Tuesday, Feb. 17:

Regis at Mountain Vista will be fun. The Eagles play well on their home floor!
Legend at Rock Canyon with seeding implications.
The new No. 1 ThunderRidge won’t find it easy at Chaparral. Does the defense and “swag” travel to Parker?
Lots of good stuff in the Front Range highlighted by Fossil Ridge at Fairview and Broomfield at Fort Collins.
George Washington will hosts Denver North after their big win over Denver East.
Rampart at Liberty.
Rangeview looking to hold on to league title in visit to Prairie View.
Aurora Central and Northglenn both hoping for a Rangeview loss but have to battle each other along the way!
Lincoln at Thomas Jefferson in city action.
Pueblo Central at Pueblo West is as big as it gets!

Wednesday, Feb. 18:

Overland at Cherokee Trail a great league match up and playoff tune-up!
Shots will be flying in Lakewood vs. Arvada West!
Lewis-Palmer at Air Academy down south will provide the action!
Golden in for a big test at Wheat Ridge and Valor visits D’Evelyn in league play.

Thursday, Feb. 19:

Boulder at Fossil Ridge is looking like the spot to be up north, but Monarch at Mountain Range will entertain as well!
Sierra at Widefield in the Springs area.
Longmont’s final regular season test at Silver Creek.

Friday, Feb. 20:

Take your pick in Centennial Friday! League will be settled but what about seeding?
Mountain Vista’s turn to visit ThunderRidge!
It’s always a “Parker Party” when Chap visits Legend.
Doherty at Palmer.
Can Ralston Valley pull the upset on Dakota Ridge?
Rangeview looks to lock up the league at Gateway while Hinkley and Aurora Central get the “A-Town” battle on!
Montbello at Thomas Jefferson as both tune up for playoffs.
Lewis-Palmer at Palmer Ridge as they look to “lock.”
Wheat Ridge will battle as Valor comes to visit but Golden at D’Evelyn is the game of the night!

Folks! There are league titles and playoff hopes on the line this week. Get out and support your squad!