George Washington standout Jervay Green punctuated a terrific regular season with a 64-point effort against Denver West last week. That single-game total is good for fourth in the state record books.
File photo by Jann Hendry
When it comes to basketball, it isn't always about the numbers. Sometimes though, the numbers do tell the story.
In a boys basketball season that has produced some impressive statistics,
Jervay Green of
George Washington (Denver) saved his best performance for the final days of the regular season. According to BasketballColorado.com, Green put up 64 points on Feb. 10 in a 113-42 victory over Denver West.
That performance would put Green into the state's record books by tying him for the fourth-highest scoring effort in the state's history. Jefferson's Matt Connor also accomplished the feat in 1997 – the record is 74 points, set by Manual's Chuckie Sproling in 1987.
With the regular season wrapping up Saturday and playoff brackets set to be released later this weekend, let's take a look at some of the state's leaders from the five classifications:
MaxPreps Colorado boys basketball leader boards
Class 5ALike Green,
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) senior
Braxton Bertolette saved his best for the season until the final week-plus of the regular season. The leading scorer in 5A, Bertolette scored 40 points Feb. 10 in a victory over Legacy (Broomfield). It was the eighth time this season Bertolette scored at least 30 points, but the first time he had hit the 40-point mark. The 6-foot-3 senior guard averages 27 points a game after averaging 23.6 as a junior.
The only other 5A player to top the 500-point mark for the season besides Bertolette as of Monday evening is
Vista Ridge (Colorado Springs) senior
Hunter Maldonado, who averages 24.5 points a game.
Four players have averaged at least 10 rebounds on the season, with juniors
William Becker of
Smoky Hill (Aurora) and
Kam Vincel of
Prairie View (Henderson) leading the way at 11.1 rebounds a game each.
Grandview (Aurora) senior
Gage Prim isn't far behind at 10.8, and
Highlands Ranch's Brendan Sullivan has averaged 10. Prim posted a double-double in 10 of 11 games from late December into February. Becker also leads 5A in blocks with 84.
Class 4AWhile
Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) senior
D'Shawn Schwartz only has statistics posted through Jan. 20, the 6-6 senior has done a lot of damage in 2016-17. Schwartz has had a number of scoring outbursts, including a 50-point game in the season opener to go along with a 44-point showing Jan. 2.
Reigning 4A Player of the Year
David Simental of
Pueblo West didn't get his season going until mid-December, but the senior quickly picked up where he left off. Simental has averaged 24.6 points, and had a six-game stretch from late January to early this month where he averaged 31 points a game.
Dondre Savage of
Sierra (Colorado Springs) leads 4A in rebounds at 10.2 a game.
Eagle Valley (Gypsum) senior
Dawson Keller leads the state in blocks with 92 for an average of 4.6 a game.
Class 3AThe state's two leaders in points per game – and three of the top six – reside in 3A.
Robert Williams of
Sheridan (Denver) averages 29.2 points a game through 18 games, and has topped the 40-point mark on two occasions. He's also averaged 7.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 5.4 steals.
Resurrection Christian (Loveland) is undefeated and the state's top-ranked team in 3A, thanks in large part to the performance this season of senior
Tanner Ervin. The 5-11 guard has averaged 27.7 points, and had a 43-point performance back on Jan. 10. Ervin has scored 1,779 points in his career with one regular-season game and the postseason still on tap.
Buena Vista's Cade Carroll has averaged 25.6 points a game and had back-to-back 41-point efforts to close January and start February.
A number of players have averaged at least 10 rebounds a game, paced by
Samuel Bafukila of the
Lotus School For Excellence (Aurora). Bafukila has at least 10 rebounds in each of his 17 games played and three games of at least 20.
Colorado Springs Christian senior
Justin Engesser has had one of the most impressive season overall, averaging 21.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and a 3A-leading 6.6 assists for the two-time defending state champions.
Class 2ANoah Siarra of
Clear Creek (Evergreen) leads 2A with an average of 26.7 points and two 40-point games.
Paonia senior
Dagan Rienks has averaged close to a double-double at 22.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, doing so while shooting an impressive 59 percent from the floor.
Class 1ATop-ranked and undefeated
Holly has been on a roll all season, keyed by
Yaniel Vidal. The senior has averaged 21.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Vidal had a 51-point game in early December, and tallied 58 points, 25 rebounds and 11 assists in his past two games.
Primero (Weston) standout
Vince Damelio has turned it on in recent weeks and leads 1A with 22.5 points a game. Damelio scored a season-high 42 points in a victory over Moffat on Feb. 11 and had 11 steals in the game. He's averaged 9.3 rebounds and 5.1 steals on the season.
Wiley's Christian Dellamaestra has averaged 21.5 points and 15 rebounds on the season. Dellamaestra has three games with at least 20 rebounds.
