Monday’s standouts in the final week of the regular season

<p>The season is dwindling, so finding some consistency for some and making a push to make the playoffs for others makes for some interesting games. This was another start to the week where there were upsets and blowouts. Let’s take a look at five standouts that caught my eye on a jam-packed Monday evening. </p> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="965808" first="Mason" last="Black"] – Falcon</strong></h2> <p>Black is a player that if he catches fire early, it will be a long day as he is aggressive and looks to shoot. Black stays shot ready and has a rocket from deep. Once he sees one go in, he is in a zone, and that is the type of shooter that a school at the next level loves. His shooting the deep ball opens up the rest of his game, and he has a confident mid-range game which makes him difficult to slow down. In Falcon’s blowout over Mitchell, the junior combo-guard finished with a game-high 24 points in the game. He hit two 3-pointers, got to his spots, and made the defense pay. He needs to find some consistency in the next couple of games as his team attempts to make a playoff push, but on Monday, he had things going for him.</p> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="618889" first="Tarrance" last="Austin"] – Pueblo South</strong></h2> <p>Pueblo South pulled off an upset when they took down a 4A Top-5 team in cross-town rivals, Pueblo Central, and they got all that they needed from their junior standout guard [player_tooltip player_id="618889" first=" Tarrance" last="Austin"]. Austin has been on a mission to prove that he is one of the most talented guards in the Southern part of the state that deserves to be spoken about more. Austin may be smaller in stature, but he makes up for it in heart and determination and is having a sensational season that has caught our attention. Austin is averaging 23.3 points on the season and, in Monday’s big win, put up a game-high 19 points. His 3-ball was falling; he attacked the paint and finished or got sent to the FT line and was aggressive. He is a natural scorer that also rebounds beyond his size and gets others involved, and was a bit too much for Pueblo Central, which led to his big day.</p> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="770450" first="Kolben" last="Barney"] – Palmer</strong></h2> <p>Barney has had an underrated season where he has been leading the Terrors to victory after victory but finally had his explosive breakout game. In a 77-68 win over Coronado, he set a new season-high 30 points to lead his team to victory. He was on fire from deep as he went 5-10 from beyond the arc, got inside and scored amongst the trees, and was a force on the boards. The 6’4 senior forward had nine boards to go along with his 30 points and was easily the court’s best player. Palmer will need him to continue playing well if they plan on making a run, and with him consistently scoring and doing what is needed, they can push for a good playoff spot.</p> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="965810" first="Said" last="Mobasher"] – Thomas Jefferson</strong></h2> <p>Mobasher is one of the hardest workers in the 2022 class, especially on the defensive end and plenty of what he does goes beyond the scoreboard. On Monday, however, he was able to showcase that he can erupt when called upon. In the Spartans blowout win over Lincoln, the junior combo-guard was able to get himself going offensively, which led to TJ taking off. He finished with a game-high 20 points, and most of that came from beyond the arc, where he finished 4-8 from deep. When his shot is falling and his ability to get downhill on fastbreak opportunities, he becomes a difficult player to contain. Mix in the ability to defend at a high level, and Mobasher could be one of the top two-way players in the class. Mobasher has to continue to improve and find some offensive consistency if Thomas Jefferson plans to make a push, and this was certainly a start.</p> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1138320" first="Danta" last="Wydra"] – Rampart</strong></h2> <p>What makes Rampart so dangerous is its ability to control the tempo in a game and its immense depth. Rampart can have a new leading scorer every single game, and that is a tough team to prepare for. While [player_tooltip player_id="917015" first="Cole" last="Bowen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="917002" first="Tyler" last="Edwards"] both had solid games, the player of the game was Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1138320" first="Danta" last="Wydra"]. Wydra finished with a game-high 20-points and decided early on that he would take over in the game. Wydra was shooting from beyond the arc, attacking the paint and converting and finishing second chance opportunities. Rampart needs as much production as possible and implement a swarming trap which opens up the offense. This time, Wydra found pay dirt and showcased their depth to round out our top players on the day.</p>