Game To Watch: Broomfield at Boulder
League battles are beginning to heat up as we near the end of January, and none is bigger on Tuesday night than Broomfield at Boulder. Both teams enter the game with perfect 3-0 marks in the Front Range League. Broomfield…
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Continue ReadingLeague battles are beginning to heat up as we near the end of January, and none is bigger on Tuesday night than Broomfield at Boulder. Both teams enter the game with perfect 3-0 marks in the Front Range League. Broomfield is 10-2 overall, Boulder 9-4.
Here’s a closer look at the matchup between two of the better teams north of Denver:
What It Means
The winner of this game will have a leg up in the race for the Front Range crown. With five teams currently undefeated in the league (Fairview, Greeley West and Monarch are the others), there isn’t going to be a lot of room for error. Both teams have played good schedules. Broomfield’s two losses have come by a combined eight points to Aurora Central and Lincoln. Boulder’s only losses have come to 5A top-10 teams — Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Rangeview at Chatfield.
Prospects To Watch
Boulder
Landon Taliaferro, 6-4 senior guard. The sharpshooter, who is averaging a team-leading 16.6 points per game is having a great final season at Boulder, with an ability to light up the scoreboard in a hurry, particularly from beyond the 3-point line. Taliaferro is one of Colorado’s top unsigned seniors and will be a great addition for the right college program. Keeping tabs on him and not allowing scores of open looks will be paramount for Broomfield.
Luke Wilson, 6-3 junior guard. Wilson has been a reliable force, with double-digit outputs in five straight games. He’s averaging 11.2 points per game for the season, shooting 52 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. He’s also an 86 percent free-throw shooter. Wilson is a top-100 prospect in the Prep Hoops Colorado 2017 class he has seen his stock rise this season.
Boulder’s strength comes in its depth. Though Taliaferro and Wilson are the team’s most consistent scorers, contributions come from up and down the lineup from players like seniors Jack Boyle, Bill Discipio and Ben Posthumus, and junior Peter Chopra. All those players chip in at least five points per game.
Broomfield
Sam Foster, 6-1 junior guard. Foster has the ability to score in bunches, evidenced by the 25 points he tallied in a narrow, 66-63 loss to Lincoln in which he shot 10-of-14 from the field. Foster, averaging 12.9 points on the season and shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, is another in the line of the state’s talented 2017 guards who has certainly positioned himself into the upcoming release of our new prospect rankings.
Nate Lehnerz, 6-4 senior forward. With good length and athleticism, Lehnerz gives the Eagles good punch inside. He’s averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is coming off a big 14-point, eight-rebound effort in Broomfield’s heart-stopping 47-46 victory over Horizon last week.
Jack Burgesser, 6-6 senior forward. Another strong big man with good size, Burgesser is giving the Eagles nine points and six rebounds per game while giving opposing guards plenty to deal with when the attack the paint.
Kyle Rynearson, 6-4 senior guard. Rynearson scored a season-high 16 points last week in a victory over Rocky Mountain. He’s got good length for the position and provides a scoring threat with an ability to get the basket and draw contact. He’s shooting 82 percent from the line this season (31-of-38).
Prediction
The Panthers have certainly been tested while playing a non-league schedule filled with some of the state’s very best teams. That experience should serve Boulder well in a game that figures to come down to the closing minutes. Boulder 65, Broomfield 61.