Columbine has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Arvada West Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully Columbine focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 17 on Monday.
On Monday, Columbine came up short against Grandview and fell 65-53. While losing is never fun, Columbine can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 222nd, while Grandview is ranked 104th).
Despite their loss, Columbine saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Brody Burkhalter, who scored 21 points, was perhaps the best of all. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Burkhalter has scored all season. Cash Boykin was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Arvada West pushed their score all the way to 55 on Monday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 63-55 hit to the loss column at the hands of Valor Christian. Arvada West found out winning isn't easy when you don't work as a unit and rack up seven fewer assists than your opponent.
Despite the defeat, Arvada West saw an underclassman step up: Keegen Balistreri scored 17 points along with six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Meurer, who scored nine points along with four steals.
Columbine's loss dropped their record down to 1-14. As for Arvada West, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-5.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Columbine hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 54.7 points per game. However, it's not like Arvada West struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 62.4 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Columbine came up short against Arvada West in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 45-34. Can Columbine avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
