Pikes Peak area rankings: Sand Creek, L-P boys meet again with PPAC title on line

PIKES PEAK AREA BASKETBALL RANKINGS

BOYS

5A

1. Fountain-Fort Carson (13-7), No. 1 last week
2. Liberty (13-8), No. 2
3. Doherty (13-8), NR

4A

1. Sand Creek (20-1), No. 1
2. Wasson (20-1), No. 3
3. Lewis-Palmer (18-3), No. 2

3A

1. CSCS (15-2), No. 1
2. James Irwin (13-5), No. 2
3. (tie) Manitou Springs (11-8), No. 3
    TCA (12-5), NR

2A

1. Peyton (15-2), No. 1
2. Calhan (10-6), No. 2
3. The Vanguard School (10-7), No. 3

NOTES: Thanks to a big second-half comeback, Fountain-Fort Carson knocked off Pine Creek on Feb. 12 and maintained its one-game lead over Liberty. The Trojans still need to defeat Doherty and Palmer this week to win the 5A Metro League title outright for the second straight year. It’s been a year of improvement over the league. Liberty went 12-11 last season, while Doherty won just eight of 23 games. … Sand Creek had its 18-game winning streak snapped Feb. 12 at Discovery Canyon but can still win the first Pikes Peak Athletic Conference title outright with a win Tuesday at Lewis-Palmer, a team it beat two weeks ago. To do so, the Scorpions will have to snap the Rangers’ 15-game home winning streak in league play, a run that goes back to the 2010-11 season. … The 3A Tri-Peaks East ended with a three-way tie at the top between James Irwin, La Junta and Dolores Huerta, all at 11-3. James Irwin didn’t help itself, losing two of three down the stretch. In the West, CSCS rolled to a 12-0 league campaign, while TCA won at Manitou Springs on Feb. 18 to forge a second-place tie with 9-3 league records. … Peyton ran its winning streak to 10 games, only a Saturday encounter at ECA away from a perfect Black Forest League season. Calhan, 6-2 in league, hosts Simla on Tuesday in a nonleague game, then Cripple Creek-Victor on Friday before ending the regular season Saturday against Kiowa in a second-place showdown.

GIRLS

5A

1. Palmer (19-2), No. 1 last week
2. Doherty (12-9), No. 2
3. Rampart (13-9), No. 3

4A

1. Mesa Ridge (21-0), No. 1
2. Sand Creek (17-4), No. 2
3. Palmer Ridge (18-3), No. 3

3A

1. St. Mary’s (15-3), No. 1
2. TCA (15-3), No. 2
3. Manitou Springs (12-7), No. 3

2A

1. Vanguard (17-1), No. 1
2. Peyton (16-2), No. 2
3. ECA (13-4), No. 3

NOTES:  With wins over Pine Creek and Fountain-Fort Carson, Palmer will turn in the first undefeated CSML season since Air Academy went 18-0 in 2006-07. Doherty, which has beaten every league foe except Palmer, will clinch second with a victory over either Fountain-Fort Carson or Liberty or a Rampart loss to Liberty. … Mesa Ridge should put the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season as it plays Wasson and Mitchell this week. Sand Creek, meanwhile, can complete an undefeated PPAC season with wins over Lewis-Palmer and Falcon. The four teams to which the Scorpions have lost (Pueblo South, Highlands Ranch, Grandview and Pueblo West) have a combined record of 77-7. a .917 winning percentage if you’re scoring at home. … When TCA claimed a road win to complete a sweep of Manitou Springs on Feb. 18, all it needed was a home victory at Salida to tie Manitou and win the Tri-Peaks West on a tiebreaker. Well, the Titans lost, 35-33, helping Manitou to the regular-season title. On the other side of the Tri-Peaks, St. Mary’s ended the league season with a loss at league-champion Lamar. The Pirates finished 11-3, tied for second with Trinidad. … Peyton ended The Vanguard School’s 16-game winning streak on Feb. 16 with a 71-48 road win. Both teams are 7-1 in the Black Forest League with one game to go. A Peyton road win at ECA on Friday would clinch the league’s regular-season crown.

* Hockey rankings have concluded with the regular season.