The 4A/3A Metro League has been a hotbed for strong athletics over the past few seasons, and boys basketball has been no different.

A top-20 matchup is brewing within the league on Thursday between Jefferson Academy and Prospect Ridge Academy, both of which are safe bets to play on in the state tournament once the regular season wraps.

Both will be battle-tested ahead of their meeting.

Jefferson Academy at Prospect Ridge Academy boys basketball, Thursday, 7 p.m.

The 11-6 Miners enter the contest ranked No. 11 in CHSAA’s Class 4A Selection & Seeding Index and have taken their fair share of lumps recently with losses to No. 1 Peak to Peak, No. 2 Kent Denver and 3A’s No. 7 Forge Christian. The 13-4 Jaguars, at No. 17, will be coming in off of consecutive losses to No. 28 The Academy and 5A’s No. 26 Thornton.

PRA boasts a strong scoring corps of four players averaging double digits, with senior Travis Agbosse leading the way with 13.6 points per game, and senior Liam Schilling (13.2 PPG), sophomore Jackson Brandt (12.2 PPG) and senior Ezekiel Bote (11.3 PPG) backing him up.

The Miners round out their game well with a collective 30.6 rebounds per game, 17.1 assists per game and 13.6 steals per game. JA, by contrast, only has two players averaging double-digit scoring with senior Josh Neely (18.6 PPG) and junior Jimeto Orji (18.2 PPG), but the Jaguars have a well-balanced glass presence with 32.8 RPG and share the ball well with 14.7 APG.

Longmont at Silver Creek boys basketball, Thursday, 7 p.m.

The 13-7 Trojans have managed to sift through the new Granite Peaks League fairly well with a 6-4 record, but the 9-10 Raptors only recently picked up their first league win in 10 tries to further highlight how tough the conference is.

Both field athletic squads. Longmont is led by juniors Dominic Lombrano (10.9 PPG) and Joey Foot (10.7 PPG) with the whole squad contributing 25.6 RPG, 12.7 APG and 11.0 SPG. Junior Luke Schmeeckle (15.3 PPG) has taken the reins for the Raptors, but the team as a whole rebounds the ball well (28.7), while adding 11.2 RPG and 10.9 APG.

Fairview at Monarch girls basketball, Thursday, 7 p.m.

The Coyotes are fresh off of three victories over Longmont, Legacy and Niwot, having improved to 12-7 and 8-2 in the GPL. The Knights (11-8, 4-5), meanwhile, just ended a four-game losing streak with a victory over Skyline and will most likely be eager to right the ship even more.

Monarch has been led mostly by sophomore Sienna Williams (18.6 PPG) and freshman Charlotte Weiss (10.9 PPG), and the team has been rebounding the ball well with 36.3 RPG, most of which have come from Williams (16.1 RPG).

Sophomore Chloe Hickory has led the Knights with 10.2 PPG, while the team in full has stolen the ball well (13.1 SPG).

Gilpin County at Lyons girls basketball, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

The Lions have waded well through their schedule this year with an 11-5 record and have likewise excelled through their 3A/2A/1A Mile High League with a 6-3 mark. They’re ranked No. 22 in 3A and will take on the No. 17 team in 2A in Gilpin County.

The Lions will be coming in fresh off of two losses to Heritage Christian and Flatirons Academy. They don’t have any players averaging double digits but boast a core of five players averaging 6.5 points or more, led by sophomore Ava Vasquez (9.6). Where the Lions lack scoring, they make up for in their boards (31.2 RPG) and thievery (16.7 SPG).

Gilpin County (13-4) has two players scoring double digits before a steep drop-off.

Legacy at Broomfield boys basketball, Friday, 7 p.m.

The Eagles will come into the contest fresh off of a rivalry win over Holy Family, while Legacy recently pounded Silver Creek by 30 points. Both boast identical 13-7 records with eight wins apiece in the Granite Peaks League, but Broomfield stands at No. 13 in 6A while the Lightning sit at No. 20.

Seniors Joey Cook and Will Lapham average 12.4 PPG and 10.3 PPG, respectively, but any of Broomfield’s starters could score double digits on any given night. The Eagles back those numbers up with 30.1 RPG and 15.2 APG.

Legacy has been enjoying strong performances from junior Jaedon Ward (14.2 PPG) and senior Ari Harpring (13.2 PPG) while collectively nabbing 28.5 boards per game and dishing out 16 APG.