Following is a look at the marquee games to keep an eye on this week in boys and girls basketball. (All rankings and records are current as of Monday.)
BOYS BASKETBALL
No. 8 Lakewood (6-3) at Columbine (8-1), Wednesday 7 p.m.: Saturday’s 32-point blowout loss to Chatfield should relight the fire under coach Daryl Johnson and Lakewood, as the Tigers are going for their third consecutive win over their Jeffco rival. But Columbine, led by senior Zach Winters, is dangerous this year.
Mountain Vista (8-4) at Chaparral (7-5), Friday 7 p.m.: Three of Mountain Vista’s losses have come to ranked teams, and senior forward Jake Belknapp and junior shooting guard Connor Staib lead a seasoned Golden Eagles team into the Continental League duel against the Wolverines’ sophomore duo of forward Ronnie Degray III and shooting guard Joseph Dalton.
Rangeview (4-5) at No. 2 George Washington (10-2), Friday 7 p.m.: Senior captains Matthew Johnson and Donyvan Jackson lead deceivingly a good Rangeview into a non-conference battle with up-tempo George Washington, who are paced by four scorers averaging double digits. Listen to this game on Post Preps Radio at denverpost.com/preps
No. 10 Cherry Creek (10-1) at Arapahoe (7-4), Saturday 7 p.m.: Cherry Creek is one of the most overlooked teams in the state as first-year coach Kent Dertinger has led the Bruins to recent quality wins against Cherokee Trail and Overland. Arapahoe boasts one of the best guards in the state in senior Kyle Lukasiewicz and topped previously undefeated Grandview last week.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Regis Jesuit (5-3) at ThunderRidge (4-7), Tuesday 7 p.m.: Regis Jesuit sophomore Francesca Belibi made waves—and earned Sports Center’s top play—when she dunked in the Raiders’ blowout win over Grand Junction on Friday. The Raiders look to ride that hype into their Continental League battle against defending champion ThunderRidge, which is led by juniors Mia Needles and Christina Martinez.
4A No. 6 Mullen (5-6) at 5A No. 6 Cherry Creek (6-4), Wednesday 7 p.m.: In a showdown between the longtime Centennial League foes, Mullen seniors Whitney Jacob and Tori Galvan square off against Cherry Creek’s scoring core of freshman Jana Van Gytenbeek, senior Delaney Bernard and senior Laura Pranger.
4A No. 1 Pueblo South (10-1) at Pine Creek (5-2), Thursday 7 p.m.: Top-ranked Pueblo South is coming off a dramatic overtime victory over Doherty on Jan. 3 and looks to reassert its dominance in its last game before the start of conference play, while first-year coach Janean Jubic and Pine Creek is led by senior Courtney Stanton.
