Games to Watch: Week 3

<p><strong>Monday: Overland @ Denver East</strong></p> <p>Do not be fooled by Overland 0-3 record they are still a very solid team with one of the hardest schedules in the state. Overland and East are two very talented squads ready to go head to head. For Overland junior [player_tooltip player_id="965781" first="Marzouq" last="Abdur-Razaaq"] has come back from injury and looked better than ever. Forward senior [player_tooltip player_id="1053581" first="Aguir" last="Dawam"] will most likely have the match-up against Marzouq, Aguir is a great rim protector and will have his hands full Monday night. The guard match-up will be very interesting as both teams have great backcourts. [player_tooltip player_id="759275" first="Quis" last="Davis"] will be the best floor general on the court, Quis is an elite athlete who has been one of the best point guards during his career in Colorado. This will be a game to watch as Overland has something to prove against a tough East squad.</p> <p><strong>Tuesday: ThunderRidge @ Eaglecrest</strong></p> <p>Another great match-up Tuesday night, between two top ten teams in the state. ThunderRidge has shown during their first week of play even with their best players on the bench they still look like a top team in the state. Eaglecrest has only lost one game this year and has also shown a lot of depth. I am very interested to see how Mustapha Elmoutaouakkil performs against big rim protectors like [player_tooltip player_id="759280" first="Zach" last="Keller"] and [player_tooltip player_id="918919" first="Joey" last="Bilello"]. Mustapha has been the best finisher near the rim in the state, ThunderRidge will definitely be a new challenge for him. [player_tooltip player_id="618859" first="Jackson" last="Brennan"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1168971" first="Thomas" last="Walkowiak"] have been great sparks for ThunderRidge making hustle plays everytime they where on the floor. Eaglecrest has a great and very deep backcourt including [player_tooltip player_id="973002" first="Peyton" last="Taylor"], Ladavian King, Kylelin Sanders, and Shareef Juadon have all shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and hit shots. The number one team in the state ThunderRidge definitely has a target on their back and a tough match-up against Eaglecrest.</p> <p><strong>Wednesday: Horizon @ Mead</strong></p> <p>Up North, we have a big game between two teams off to hot starts this year and some past history. Many of these guys have been playing together during the AAU season since middle school, this makes it a little bit of a rivalry game. Mead has made a case for them to be the top runner in 4A this year as they are off to an undefeated start and have one of the best guard-big man duos in the state with [player_tooltip player_id="1284466" first="Elijah" last="Knudsen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1284551" first="James" last="Shiers"]. Horizon this year has two losses but they are both against top 10 teams in the state and they only loss to Denver East by two points. Horizon may not have the biggest team but they have a bunch of skilled guards including Kyle Northrup, [player_tooltip player_id="618866" first="Esmond" last="Griffin"], Tabor Robinson, and [player_tooltip player_id="918907" first="Coby" last="Jimenez"] who are all putting up over 10 points a game. This will be a good one as Horizon has had some of the best energy in the state and you can bet Mead’s home crowd will bring the energy for the defending 4A state champions.</p> <p><strong>Thursday: Highland @ University</strong></p> <p>These two 3A teams have gotten off to a hot start and have some of the best small-school players in the state. University has one of the best scorers in the state [player_tooltip player_id="759274" first="Tayt" last="Chacon"], who is averaging 24.2 points per game. Tayt will be a match-up problem for Highland. For Highland junior Hyatt Tolle has been leading the way for his team averaging 17 points a game. Highland also has two big younger classmen for their age, Carson Stenkie, and Sawyer Morgan. This will be a big match-up between two talented small-school teams. Both of these teams are looking to pull themselves ahead of other 3A teams, this could be a great win to have for either team.</p> <p><strong>Friday: D’Evelyn @ Faith Christian</strong></p> <p>Faith Christian has been one of the top teams in 3A for a while and will be playing against a tough 4A team in D’Evelyn. Faith Christian has one of the top shooters in the state, [player_tooltip player_id="1285109" first="Keegan" last="Paige"], who is putting up 23 points a game. This will be a match-up between two juniors who have been great for their teams, for D’Evelyn that is [player_tooltip player_id="1285211" first="Elijah" last="Gusmus"]. Elijah has great height for a wing standing at 6’4, he has used that height to score inside and out. Faith Christian will have their hands full against a solid D’Evelyn squad on Friday.</p>