Down The Stretch: Front Range League
The last week of the regular season means there are a load of league races coming down to the wire. Today, we are taking a closer look at the title chase in the Front Range League, where three teams (Boulder,…
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Continue ReadingThe last week of the regular season means there are a load of league races coming down to the wire.
Today, we are taking a closer look at the title chase in the Front Range League, where three teams (Boulder, Fossil Ridge and Greeley West) are still in the mix for the league crown.
Here’s what to watch for this week as that chase hits a fever pitch:
Contenders
Boulder
Record: (16-6, 10-1 Front Range)
Leading Scorers: Landon Taliaferro (17.3); Luke Wilson (11.9); Jack Boyle (6.4)
Streak: Lost one
The Scoop: The Panthers are coming off a road loss at Arvada West (14-7, 8-4 in Jeffco) by three points on Monday, but were on a seven-game winning streak that spanned 41 days before that.
Under first-year head coach Jack Clarke, Boulder’s only league loss was at home to Broomfield (16-6, 7-4) on Jan. 19, while leading scorer Taliaferro was out with an injury. They’ve been undefeated in the FRL otherwise with a cast of Panthers who can really make shots (51 percent from field, 46 percent from three). Taliaferro has at least D-II upside, Wilson is a top-50 prospect in 2017, Boyle has committed to Pomona-Pitzer, and the Panthers have a number of solid role players.
If Boulder takes down Fossil Ridge at home on Thursday, the Panthers will claim an outright league championship. If they lose, they could be co-champions with both Fossil Ridge and Greeley West, if the Spartans beat Loveland on Thursday, but Fossil would earn the highest seed in the 5A tournament with wins over the other two champions.
Fossil Ridge
Record: (16-6, 9-2)
Leading Scorers: Braxton Bertolette (24.3); Jackson Everhart (15.3); Garrett Schmidt (10.9)
Streak: Won five
The Scoop: The Sabercats, after opening league play with a loss at Monarch, have gone 9-1 in the FRL since with only a defeat to Broomfield during that stretch of conference games.
Bertolette, the No. 3 prospect in our latest 2017 rankings, has been receiving plenty of D-I interest and for good reason as 5A’s leading scorer. The 6-foot-2 guard has buried 24 more three-pointers than anyone else in 5A, 89 of them, and is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc despite attempting the second-most three-pointers of any player in any classification. He’s also scored 20+ points 16 times and he’s shooting 93 percent from the line, so Bertolette has truly been an elite player this season.
But Fossil Ridge has other strong players. Everhart and Schmidt are both talented small-college prospects and the Sabercats are another sharpshooting team, 49 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc. They do have a bit more size in the paint than Boulder as well with 6-foot-7 Cam DeHart and 6-foot-6 Colby Ripsam. Depending on Thursday’s outcome, Fossil Ridge could earn anywhere from a No. 3 to a No. 5 seed in the state tournament.
Greeley West
Record: (18-4, 9-2)
Leading Scorers: Cordell Gillingham (15.7); Connor Thompson (14.8); Darren DeLaCroix (10.9)
Streak: Won five
The Scoop: In a lot of ways, the Spartans have been the most intriguing top-flight Front Range team this season.
After finishing in a tie for 10th in the league at 3-9 a season ago, West has made huge strides under second-year coach Brett Cloepfil. While they haven’t played as challenging a non-conference schedule as Boulder and Fossil Ridge, an 18-4 record is worthy of a lot of praise. Interestingly enough, Greeley West only plays six guys in their rotation, but those six—Gillingham, Thompson, DeLaCroix, Preston Marion (8.5 ppg), Andre Sepeda (7.3) and AJ Lopez (5.5)—have pushed the pace, scored efficiently, and have had wonderful chemistry. Gillingham and Thompson are both collegiate signees, DeLaCroix is No. 64 in the 2017 class, and Sepeda is No. 14 in the 2019 class. Marion is also a force on the glass.
A road win over Loveland (4-18, 3-8), coupled with a Fossil Ridge victory, would give Greeley West a share of the Front Range title.
And The League Champ Is …
In a toss-up game, we’ll give Boulder a slight edge over Fossil Ridge due in large part to the fact the game is on the Panthers’ home court.
We also predict Greeley West will take out Loveland with ease. That would give Boulder the outright championship and place Fossil and West into a tie for second. Both the Sabercats and Spartans would still have a chance at a top-16 seed in the tournament and a first-round bye, but Greeley West might get the lowest seed of the three with losses to the other two.
Let’s see how it all plays out.