After losing to the Bear Creek Bears the last time they met, the Arvada West Wildcats decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Arvada West escaped with a win on Wednesday against Bear Creek by the margin of a single free throw, 44-43. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Arvada West has scored all year.
Arvada West's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Keegen Balistreri, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was James Hadzic, who scored ten points along with three steals.
Several Bears players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Emilek Jallow, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds. Jallow hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. Elias Pacheco was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Arvada West is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. As for Bear Creek, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Arvada West will take on Lakewood at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lakewood will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 186th, while Arvada West is ranked 50th). As for Bear Creek, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Valor Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Valor Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 13 matchups -- so hopefully Bear Creek likes a good challenge.
