Impressive first quarter leads to Arvada West boys win over Denver North

ARVADA — It was a quarter that Arvada West’s boys basketball team would like to repeat as many times as possible.

The Wildcats grabbed a commanding 26-5 lead over Denver North after the first eight minutes Friday night at Arvada West High School. The quick start eventually led to a 62-29 victory for the Wildcats (3-3 record).

“We had really good energy and communicated really well,” A-West junior Carson Nichols said of the first quarter. “We came out of the gate with a lot of fast-break layups. Zion hit two 3-pointers. Everything was going good for us.”

A-West junior Zion Thomas was unstoppable early pouring in all of his 12 points for the game in the first quarter. Junior Jasper Padia added 14 points while Nichols scored a game-high 18 points for the Wildcats.

“We you let the game come to you and you aren’t forcing things the five guys on the court all get involved,” Parriott said. “Our team is going to have to have production from Zion, Jasper and Carson. They have to produce for us to give us a chance to beat good teams.”

Denver North (6-4) was led by sophomore Jacob Giron’s 13 points. The Vikings have won four of their last six games. Denver North doesn’t return to the court until after Winter Break.

A-West has one final non-league game before taking about a two-week hiatus between games. The Wildcats hit the road to face Lakewood at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21.

“It would be nice having some confidence going into break having won three in a row,” Parriott said. “I think it’s a big game. It’s the next game so that makes it big too.”

The Wildcats had back-to-back losses last week to start the Fairview Tournament in Boulder. A-West lost in the first round against Denver East and then suffered a 23-point loss to area-rival Ralston Valley in the consolation bracket.

Parriott believes his team has learned a lot from the 61-38 loss to rival Ralston Valley in the Fairview Tournament back on Dec. 8. 

“Hopefully we are better for it,” Parriott said after back-to-back wins following the loss. “We’ll find out soon. We’ll play them again and other teams that are physical and tough. Hopefully we learned a lot.”

There doesn’t appear to be a juggernaut in the 5A Jeffco League this season. Ralston Valley (6-3) is the hottest team in the conference coming off winning the Ralston Roundup Tournament title Friday night with a 2-point victory over Doherty. It was the fifth straight win for the Mustangs.

“I really think we could be up there,” Nichols said of the 5A Jeffco League. “We have a chance to compete and be up there with the best in Jeffco. We have a lot of work to do, but I believe we have the energy and depth.”