CLASS 4A PREVIEW

A look at each of the Class 4A Great 8 matchups set for Friday at the Denver Coliseum:

Boys

NO. 8 COLORADO ACADEMY (18-7)

VS. NO. 17 HOLY FAMILY (14-11)

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Players to watch: CA — George Buyers, 6-0, jr. (16.9 ppg, 2.0 spg); Jason Bratis, 6-7, jr. (10.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg). HF — Rocco Bridges, 5-10, sr. (12.6 ppg); Joseph Portillo, 6-0, jr. (10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

What to know: All but one of Holy Family’s 11 losses came against teams from Class 6A or 5A. As their Sweet 16 rout of topseeded Kent Denver (80-53) showed, the Tigers can play with anyone in 4A. Denverbased Colorado Academy has been a small school power under head coach Steven Hyatt. Making their third straight Great 8 trip, the Mustangs rebounded from a 3-4 start by winning 15 of their next 18.

NO. 4 EAGLE RIDGE ACADEMY (20-5) VS. NO. 12 PUEBLO CENTRAL (19-6) Time: 8:30 p.m. Players to watch:

ER — Hunter Hill, 6-6, sr. (18.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg); James “Kyen” Allen, 6-7, sr. (12.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.1 bpg). PC — Xavier Davis, 6-4, jr. (14.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.7 bpg); Ladamien Davis, 6-2, fr. (9.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg).

What to know: Brighton-based Eagle Ridge worked its way through a rugged schedule that included six games against 4A’s top eight seeds. The Warriors split those games — beating Lutheran, Resurrection Christian and Colorado Academy — thanks to an explosive offense featuring five double-digit scorers. Central recovered well from the loss of Kadyn Betts to Minnesota, making its third straight Great 8A trip after upsetting No. 5 Pagosa Springs in the Sweet 16.

NO. 2 RESURRECTION CHRISTIAN (21-4) VS. NO. 23 CLASSICAL ACADEMY (17-8)

Time: 10:15 a.m.

Players to watch: RC — Ty Yoder, 5-11, so. (17.5 ppg, 4.0 apg); Cade Crutcher, 6-3, so. (13.0 ppg, 2.7 apg). TCA — Jordan Wenger, 6-2, jr. (19.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.2 spg); Mason Smith, 6-3, sr. (8.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg). What to know: The highest seed left in 4A (Resurrection Christian) takes on the lowest seed left (The Classical Academy) in any bracket at the Coliseum. RC has won 21 of its last 22 games in its quest to bring the program’s first state title back to Loveland. TCA pulled of back-to-back stunners in the opening two rounds — wins at No. 10 Sterling (71-59) and No. 7 Eaton (54-51) — to reach the Great 8.

NO. 3 ALAMOSA (21-3) VS. NO. 6 LUTHERAN (17-8)

Time: 1:15 p.m.

Players to watch: AL — Luke Christensen, 5-10, sr. (12.6 ppg, 2.8 apg); Brant Jackson, 6-4, jr. (12.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg); Kasey Jones,

6-2, sr. (7.8 ppg, 2.9 apg). LU — Braydon Jacob, 6-0, jr. (20.7 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 spg); Hunter Caldwell, 6-9, jr. (9.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg,

1.3 bpg).

What to know: The Mean Moose have the stingiest defense left in the bracket (45.0 points allowed/game). A battled-tested Lutheran squad, whose only loss to 4A competition is a 61-55 defeat at No. 2 Resurrection Christian, awaits. The Lions have reached the Great 8 in six of Bill Brandsma’s eight seasons as coach, winning the 3A title in 2021.

Girls NO. 1 HOLY FAMILY (22-3) VS. NO. 8 DELTA (19-5)

Time:

Players to watch: HF — Fiona Snashall, 6-1, sr. (11.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.8 spg, 2.9 bpg); Essynce Contreraz, 5-6, jr. (10.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.0 spg). DE — Kylie Huff, jr. (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 spg, 2.5 apg); Taylor Somers, so. (9.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 spg).

What to know: Holy Family is looking to reach the mountain top again in its fifth consecutive Great 8 trip — one ending in an uncontested title game (2020), two others in Final Four defeats. They get a red-hot Delta squad that’s won 17 straight, including two playoff games by a combined score of 171-79.

NO. 4 LUTHERAN (22-3) VS. NO. 12 BERTHOUD (15-10) Time: 11:45 a.m. Players to watch:

LU — Raelyn Kelty,

5-11, sr. (14.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.5 apg); Nikki Mcspadden, 5-7, jr. (12.2 ppg, 2.9 spg). BE — Reece Kraljic, sr. (10.0 ppg); Katie Vierra, 5-4, sr. (9.8 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.6 spg).

What to know: A year removed from its season ending with a Sweet 16 upset, Lutheran has its eyes on returning to the Final 4 for the second time in three years. All three of the Lions’ losses came to teams seeded in the top 8 of the 5A tournament, and they’ve already beaten three teams in the 4A Great 8 (Holy Family, University and Eaton). Berthoud has caught fire at the right time, winning 10 of its last 13, including a Sweet 16 upset of No. 5 Colorado Academy.

NO. 2 D’EVELYN (25-0) VS. NO. 7 RIVERDALE RIDGE (22-3) 8:45 a.m.

Time:

Players to watch: DE — Peyton Marvel, jr. (19.2 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 4.6 spg); Macy Scheer, 6-0, jr. (15.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg). RR — Brihanna Crittendon, 6-2, fr. (31.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.9 spg, 2.0 bpg); Gabby Herr, 5-6, so. (9.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 spg).

What to know: Two teams accustomed to blowing teams out — D’evelyn’s average margin of victory is 30.5 points/game and Riverdale Ridge’s is 32.3 — could produce a track meet. D’evelyn’s high-powered attack (61.6 ppg) is second only to Riverdale Ridge’s (66.6) in the 4A bracket. The challenge for the unbeaten Jaguars? Bottling up freshman Brihanna Crittendon, who’s already got scholarship offers from several of the best D-I programs in the country.

NO. 3 UNIVERSITY (23-2) VS. NO. 6 EATON (19-6)

Time: 4 p.m.

Players to watch: UN — Taryn Kravig, sr. (14.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.4 spg); Addison Harding, so. (9.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.0 bpg). EA — Tayla Wiedeman, jr. (13.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg); Emily Maske, 5-9, sr. (7.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg).

What to know: University ripped off winning streaks of six and 17 games behind a defense that allows just 30.8 points/game. With a pair of wins over Eaton the Bulldogs face the challenge of beating a rival three times in one season. Eaton survived an overtime upset bid from Peak to Peak to reach the quarterfinals.