Prep notebook: Eagle Valley basketball gets back to winning ways with victories over Palisade
Downey drops 38 points in Saints 11th-straight win
Isabella Almanza/Courtesy photo
On a Valentine’s Day senior night, Eagle Valley’s six seniors led the Devils boys basketball team to a 71-56 victory over Palisade in Gypsum. Senior Gunther Soltvedt dropped 23 points, Branden Villalobos led the team in assists and Nikko Von Stralendorff was the chairmen of the boards.
“We had a great senior night win,” coach Justin Brandt said.
The game was close at halftime, with Palisade leading 27-26. Junior forward Luke Fay scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the second quarter alone.
“At the halftime talk we really focused on our off-ball, help defense,” said Brandt, whose squad held the Bulldogs to just nine third quarter points. In the fourth quarter, the floodgates finally opened. Elias Pena nailed two triples and Hugo Garcia got in on the scoring action with a 3-pointer of his own as Eagle Valley nailed four 3-pointers and scored 29 points.
“Our shots starting falling in the fourth, finally,” Brandt said.
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The win sets up a rematch at Glenwood Springs on Friday for a share of the league title. The Demons (15-7 overall, 5-0 league), defeated the defending league-champion Devils (10-10, 4-1) 69-67 in Gypsum on Feb. 9.
The Eagle Valley girls will have similar stakes when they take on Glenwood Springs on Friday, thanks to Tuesday’s 47-45 win over Palisade. The Devils are 4-1 in the league; the Demons sit at 5-0. In the Feb. 9 matchup in Gypsum, Glenwood Springs won 75-30 over Eagle Valley. Friday’s girls and boys games are at 5:30 and 7 p.m., respectively.
In other action on Tuesday night, the Battle Mountain girls fell to league-leading Glenwood Springs 65-20 on Monday. The Huskies (4-15) will look to get back to their winning ways against Grand Junction Central, Wednesday at home at 5:30 p.m. The boys (3-16) also lost to the Demons, 57-42 on Monday, and will face Grand Junction Central Wednesday at 7 p.m.
In last weekend’s 2A games, Vail Mountain School and Vail Christian continued to roll. The Gore Rangers got out to a 28-8 first-quarter lead against West Grand at home on Saturday and cruised to a 67-35 win to improve to 9-7 overall and 6-1 in the league. The top squad in the 2A Western Slope, No. 7 Vail Christian, improved to 8-0 in the league with a 68-32 victory over North Park on Friday.
Ellen Moritz/Courtesy photo
Will Neumann went 8-for-10 from the field to lead the way with 20 points and Quinn Downey went 8-for-14 for 18 points. On Saturday, the Saints won the their 11th game in a row with a 77-38 victory over Ouray. Downey nailed 12 3-pointers, scored 38 points, and led the team with eight rebounds and five assists as the Saints scored 32 third-quarter points alone. Vail Christian (14-2) wraps up the season at home on Saturday against Rangely (11-7).
Hockey notes: Huskies shutout Summit 3-0
Connor Wadey, Nate Bishop and Rutley Heinemann each scored goals and Heinemann and Hudson Richards each tallied an assist as Battle Mountain took down Summit 3-0 in last Saturday’s rivalry road contest. Max Darling stopped 16 shots on goal in the shutout as Battle Mountain improved to 5-9-2 overall and 1-7-2 in the 4A Mountain League.
The Huskies are on the road against Lewis-Palmer (7-10-1) on Thursday before finishing the regular season at home against Liberty (7-9-1) and Cherry Creek (10-6-1) on Friday and Saturday. Puck drops at 5:15 p.m. at Dobson Ice Arena on both nights.
Ski notes: Colorado state ski meet is Thursday and Friday at Copper Mountain and Frisco Nordic Center
The Colorado High School Ski League state Alpine and Nordic meets begin on Thursday and Friday at Copper Mountain and Frisco Nordic Center.
Alpine athletes will take to the “Ore Deal” run on Thursday for the giant slalom state title. First run for the girls and boys will be at 9:30 and 10:15 a.m., respectively, with second runs going at 12:30 and 1:15 p.m. On Friday, the state slalom titles will be decided at the same times on the same run.
Nordic skiers will compete in a 5-kilometer individual start skate race at 2:30 p.m. (girls) and 3:15 p.m. (boys) on Thursday, followed by a 5-kilometer mass start classic race at the same times on Friday.
Battle Mountain is the defending girls state ski champions, while the Eagle Valley boys will be defending the Nordic state team title. Summit was the overall boys team champion; the Huskies placed second and Eagle Valley was fourth.
