The Arvada West Wildcats and the Horizon Hawks will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Arvada West sitting on four straight victories and Horizon on five.
Arvada West picked up another tournament win on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 64-43 margin over Kelly Walsh. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 21 points or more this season.
Jordan Stremel
| 12/14/24 @ Kelly Walsh | 13 |
| 12/19/23 vs Boulder | 11 |
| 01/05/24 @ Brighton | 10 |
| 01/24/24 vs Columbine | 10 |
| 01/26/24 @ Lakewood | 10 |
Arvada West's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jordan Stremel, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. Those 13 rebounds gave Stremel a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Keegen Balistreri, who went 5 of 10 en route to 16 points.
Arvada West smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Horizon ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They secured a 60-54 W over Fairview.
Arvada West better keep an eye on Kaden Northrup. He was instrumental in Horizon's win, putting up 20 points along with eight assists and seven boards. With that strong performance, Northrup is now averaging an impressive 2.5 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Aiden Greene, who went 8 of 9 on his way to 18 points and six rebounds.
Horizon's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Arvada West, they pushed their record up to 6-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Arvada West has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Horizon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Arvada West was able to grind out a solid victory over Horizon in their previous meeting back in December of 2018, winning 54-44. Will Arvada West repeat their success, or does Horizon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
