Basketball Game Preview: Golden Demons vs. Dakota Ridge Eagles

Golden is 0-3 against Dakota Ridge since January of 2023 but things could change on Tuesday. The Golden Demons will take on the Dakota Ridge Eagles at 6:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Dakota Ridge will be up against a hot Golden squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. Golden came within four points of losing the streak, but they secured a 64-60 W against Wheat Ridge.

Leif Hansen

Rebounds

02/07/25 @ Wheat Ridge	13
02/05/25 vs D'Evelyn	8
01/31/25 vs Conifer	14
01/29/25 vs Littleton	8

It was another big night for Leif Hansen, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 13 boards. He has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. Dylan Paulson was another key player, putting up nine points in addition to seven boards and seven steals.

Golden smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Dakota Ridge entered their tilt with Evergreen on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They walked away with a 60-52 victory over the Cougars. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Cougars are ranked 86th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Dakota Ridge pushed their record up to 14-6 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.9 points over those games. As for Golden, their record now sits at 13-7.

Things could have been worse for Golden, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took an 80-65 loss to Dakota Ridge in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Dakota Ridge's Ethan Berninger, who went 9 of 11 to rack up 21 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Now that Golden knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.