Game Previews: Thursday Dec. 21st
Even with most of our in state teams going to Vegas to showcase their talent in the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic this upcoming week against opponents from all around the world, there’s still some in state games worth getting out to for the holidays. One of the better tournaments worth taking a look at is the Holiday Classic hosted by Cherry Creek High School that’ll for sure have some entertaining basketball. With all of the games taking place on Thursday, December 21st, fans will have a hard decision to make on which one they should attend or if you’re a gym rat; all three. Here’s the preview for the best games in the Cherry Creek Holiday Classic and also, games of the week.
Thursday, December 21st
Thomas Jefferson vs Fossil Ridge @ Cherry Creek Holiday Classic 1pm
Thomas Jefferson (6-2) is a young team that’s shown some promise to start the season. They’re led by sophomore Darius Hornbuckle (12.1ppg). They’re a fast paced run and gun offense that’s also been showing up on the defensive end as well. Fossil Ridge (2-4) to start out the season has started off slow and will get all that they can handle. They’ve lost four of their last five games in a little over two weeks and are looking to get started in the right direction. The good thing is they’ve shown balance on the offensive end as the Sabercats has four players averaging over 6 points a game but without that go to player that can close out games, they’ve struggled in that regard. Both teams are in desperate spots as Coach Laman and the Spartans are ready to prove that last year was a fluke season and they’re still one of the top teams in all of 4A. Fossil Ridge is looking to get a quality win against a noteworthy opponent and will be looking to end the year better than they started. Winning the Holiday Classic Tournament will be a huge accomplishment for both teams.
Prediction: Thomas Jefferson pulls it off due to their guard play.
Broomfield vs Legend @ Cherry Creek Holiday Classic 4pm
This match up will be one that both teams will be looking forward to, seeing is how Legend is coming in on a two game losing streak and feel as if they have something to prove. Their leading scorer Sufyan Elkannan is averaging 13.2 a game and is going to have to put his best foot forward so that the Titans can prevent a three game losing streak. Broomfield is coming off of a blowout win against Holy Family and will be ready for whatever Legend throws at that them. 6’7 Senior Devin Martinez is scoring a team high 15.3 points along with 8.8 rebounds a game and should feast on the Legend bigs. One of the keys to the game will be aggressiveness. Will Legend be able to keep Broomfield off of the boards and will Broomfield be able to dominate inside. An even better question is can either one of these teams use this game to jumpstart their push for the championship round this week?
Prediction: Broomfield— Too big inside and will be looking to head to the post—often.
Smoky Hill vs Rangeview @ Rangeview 7pm
These two Aurora teams will have a big battle in their own backyard. Smoky Hill is coming off a convincing win against another top 10 team in George Washington where Kenny Foster and Quinten Rock got it going on the offensive end for the entirety of the game. Smoky proved that they’re indeed one of the state top teams and are here to stay. Rangeview is a young team and has been an underdog all year long, but has competed at the highest level-no matter who they go up against, they fight and have won some very close games. Last week they got themselves a much needed win against Cherry Creek high school where Isaiah Hayes scored 17 points to lead the Raiders to a 66-63 win on the road. Can the young scrappy team compete with one of the best teams in the state or does the Buffaloes just have too much for the Raiders? This will be a game worth getting out to.
Prediction: Smoky Hill— They’re the more talented and experienced team
Arvada West vs Montbello (Far Northeast Warriors) @ Arvada West 7pm
Sindou Cisse and Malik Fofana are the two juggernauts for the Warriors averaging 16 points a piece so far. You want to talk about highlight reels, they’ve already had plenty. This duo is a nightmare match up for most teams across the state, but somehow are only a game over .500. This is the perfect bounce back spot where the Warriors should try and get everyone involved. If they plan on having a successful year, they’ll need additional help and it all starts this week against Arvada West. Arvada West is tasked with taking on these two that are coming in hot. The good thing is, Arvada has three players averaging 13 points per game: Isaiah Brewer, James Pelon and Josh Rogers. These three players have been off to a strong start and are stock risers for sure. A big win at home this week will have them as a team to watch for the coming weeks.
Prediction: Montbello— Cisse and Fofana will be too much for the Wildcats but it will be a hard-fought game to the final whistle.