Knight time for Fairview

This season could produce one of the best Class 5A boys basketball state tournaments in recent memory. Yes, undefeated Fairview has more than established itself as the favorite, but there are perhaps more legitimate contenders lurking than ever before. Regis Jesuit, Eaglecrest and Ralston Valley earned the other top seeds, and it's certain two-time defending state champion Denver East will be heard from before it's all over.

Ray Ball Region

* Who's hot: Denver East, which won its last eight games of the regular season. The Angels also took down then-undefeated George Washington 71-63 in overtime. . . . Rampart is riding a six-game victory streak. . . . Regis Jesuit, winner of its past 14, went undefeated in the Continental League and has lost only to Fairview. . . . With an eight-game winning streak, Aurora Central also was undefeated in league competition. But the Skyline League doesn't compare with the Continental; the Trojans are the only Skyline team to qualify for the tournament.

* Who's not: Columbine has lost five of seven. The Rebels seemed to regain their footing after an 0-8 start when University of Northern Colorado recruit Connor Osborne was injured, but they faltered down the stretch. . . . Lincoln has lost four of six, although the Lancers did beat a decent Denver South squad 64-47.

* Bracket buster: Fifth-seeded Rocky Mountain had a demoralizing 75-44 loss to Fairview, a rout that started the Lobos on a three-game losing streak. But Rocky Mountain climbed back by winning its next four, including 41-40 against rival Fort Collins and a double-figure win against Mountain Range.

* Prime-time players: Regis forward Bud Thomas, a 6-foot-6 junior, has the best inside- out game of any big man in 5A, averaging 17.6 points and 6.3 rebounds, while also making 25 three-pointers. . . . Denver East's Da Vaughn Thornton, a University of Colorado football recruit, averages 17.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. . . . Rocky Mountain's Peter Travers averaged only 10.6 points but is a standout defender, averaging seven rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots. . . . Kilen Venable from Aurora Central averages nearly 22 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.

* Buzzer beater: This quadrant has some of the most interesting first-round matchups. Mountain Range (15-8) and Cherokee Trail (13-10) have the most combined wins of any first-round opponents, except for Grand Junction Central and Northglenn (31 total wins, in the RW Truscott Region). Also, Rocky Mountain (17) and Littleton (15) have the most combined wins of any No. 5 and 6 seeds in the tournament.

Glenn Wilson Region

* Who's hot: Top-seeded Eaglecrest, which began the season ranked No. 1, has won its past seven games. . . . Green Mountain, seeded second, lost only to Ralston Valley this season and has come back from that 59-50 loss with five straight wins, including 63-62 against Chatfield to finish the regular season. . . . ThunderRidge, which has battled injuries this season, has won seven of eight to nab the third seed.

* Who's not: Seventh-seed Fountain Fort-Carson had an uplifting 60-56 win against Rampart on Jan. 27. Then the Trojans lost their next four, including three against teams that finished behind them in the league race. . . . Highlands Ranch stopped a four-game losing streak with two league-ending wins. But those wins came against Mountain Vista (11-11 at the time) and Douglas County (2-19 at the time).

* Bracket buster: Heritage (12-11) has the worst record of any No. 5 seed in the tournament. But the Eagles had a decent 7-4 Continental League record and have won 10 of 14.

* Prime-time players: Brian Hunt of Green Mountain averages 18.8 points a game and led his league in several other statistical categories. . . . Liberty's Wes McKenzie averages 22.7 points a game, second highest in 5A. . . . ThunderRidge point guard Dave Arnold averages 22 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and has made 64 three-pointers at a 45.4 percent clip. . . . Heritage's James Klemm averages 21.8 points a game and Brandon Kaufman 16.2 points. . . . Eaglecrest's Josh Turner leads the Raptors with 15 points per game and is making 40.1 percent of his three-pointers. . . . Bear Creek's Preston Rayburn averages 16.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. Anthony Crenshaw of Poudre averages 20.6 points.

* Buzzer beater: Think Fairview is the only strong team from a weak Front Range League? Legacy senior Walter Cooper pointed out 10 of the 12 league teams qualified for the tournament.

RW Truscott Region

* Who's hot: Ralston Valley is the top seed and has a 16-game winning streak. But the real story behind it is the Mustangs gave Green Mountain its only loss of the season, handled Denver East and beat Class 4A power Golden to start the season. . . . Third-seeded Gateway has won 13 of 14, including an eight-game streak to wrap up the regular season. . . . Arapahoe has won six of seven, rebounding from a 1-4 dip in January.

* Who's not: Thornton split its last six games of the regular season, including a 61-59 loss to Boulder, which went 3-8 in the Front Range League. . . . Northglenn, another Front Range League team, has lost its past three games. . . . Chaparral lost four of its final five regular- season contests.

* Bracket buster: Grand Junction Central (19-4) has the best record of any of the four No. 5 seeds. The Warriors have won eight of nine but finished second in the Southwestern League after a 30-point loss to Grand Junction (15-7).

* Prime-time players: Thomas Bropleh of George Washington leads 5A in scoring at 24.3 points a game, rebounds well and is a relentless force in the paint. . . . Taylor Gillach leads Ralston Valley in scoring at 15.7 points and is a true three-point marksman at 67 percent. . . . Thornton's Caleb Bradfield is another dual threat, averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds. . . . Mountain Vista's Eric Anderson is just behind Bradfield in scoring at 19 points. . . . Josh Pleasant of Gateway has come on this season to average 16.4 points and is one of the best leapers in 5A.

* Buzzer beater: Pierce Hornung of Ralston Valley has been an inconsistent scorer this season, but he handles the ball better than any 6-5 player in 5A. The Mustangs have only two big scoring threats, but Hornung's passing and press-breaking ability might pay added dividends if Ralston Valley makes it to the bigger courts in the later rounds of the tournament.

John Casey Region

* Who's hot: Fairview (23-0), which began the season with championships in three invitational tournaments, didn't stumble and made almost all its opponents look bad. . . . Doherty, the one constant in a wild Colorado Springs Metro League, has won its past 14 games to end up with a 20-3 record. . . . Grand Junction recovered from a loss to Grand Junction Central in its first league matchup and has won six of seven, including its past four.

* Who's not: Mullen, which beat Eaglecrest, has a six-game losing streak and is the 10th seed. . . . Monarch, the 12th seed, lost its past three to end the regular season 9-14. . . . Smoky Hill, the 11th seed, has lost its past two games and finished last in the Centennial League with a 3-11 mark.

* Bracket buster: Fort Collins has a 16-7 record, the best of all the sixth seeds. Also, the Lambkins have two of the hardest- to-stop players in Austin Maag and Nate McAuliffe and traveled to meet tough teams such as Regis and ThunderRidge.

* Prime-time players: Sand Creek's Nick Fox is third in the state in scoring at 22.6 points and leads in rebounding at 12 a game. . . . Maag averages 19.5 points and teammate McAuliffe averages 15.5. . . . Fairview has the best trio in the state, led by Travis Shepherd (19 points), Beau Gamble (9.2 points, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals) and Jonathan Morse (13 points, seven rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocked shots).

* Buzzer beater: Overland's revival from a perennial last-place team to the fifth seed under rookie coach Ron Garcia has been overshadowed by its game against Mullen, when the Trailblazers were the target of racial taunts. "That wasn't what I call sportsmanship," Garcia said. "But we received a lot of great letters supporting us, and it brought us closer together as a team."

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