ThunderRidge has gone 8-1 against Highlands Ranch recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The ThunderRidge Grizzlies will be playing in front of their home fans against the Highlands Ranch Falcons at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in ThunderRidge's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last ten matches.
ThunderRidge is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Douglas County: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that ThunderRidge blew Douglas County out of the water with a 77-46 final score. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Huskies are ranked 140th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Drew Paine
| 02/18/25 vs Douglas County | 55% |
| 02/14/25 vs Mountain Vista | 100% |
| 02/12/25 @ Heritage | 58% |
| 02/07/25 vs Legend | 57% |
| 02/04/25 @ Ponderosa | 75% |
| + 7 more games |
Drew Paine was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double with 14 points and 16 boards. He is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last 12 games he's played. Sean Morton was another key player, putting up 12 points and four steals.
ThunderRidge was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Douglas County only racked up five assists.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Highlands Ranch, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Legend 68-65. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Falcons have posted since December 7, 2024.
Highlands Ranch's win came from a few key players ThunderRidge will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Luke Bakken, who went 8-for-10 en route to 18 points. He has become a key player for Highlands Ranch: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least 15 points, but 8-11 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Lane, who went 6-for-13 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds.
ThunderRidge is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.3 points over those games. As for Highlands Ranch, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-12.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: ThunderRidge has been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 36.4% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Highlands Ranch, though, as they've only made 28.9% of their threes this season. Given ThunderRidge's sizable advantage in that area, Highlands Ranch will need to find a way to close that gap.
ThunderRidge took their win against Highlands Ranch in their previous matchup back in January of 2024 by a conclusive 88-64. Does ThunderRidge have another victory up their sleeve, or will Highlands Ranch turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
