Break out the sparkling, nonalcoholic beverages.

The Grand Junction boys and Central High School girls basketball teams earned the right to toast themselves after wins this weekend to assure the regular season Southwestern League championship in their respective divisions.

More importantly to the Tigers and Wildcats is the additional plum of receiving an automatic berth in the upcoming Class 5A state playoffs due to
clinching those SWL crowns.

In both cases the matter was settled with easy wins.

Grand Junction (8-0 league, 18-2 overall) routed host Montezuma-Cortez 85-31 on Saturday to turn the long trip back from the Four Corners region into a party bus.

And yes, it’s true, Grand Junction has a couple of tough games ahead of them with neighborhood rivals Central at home Tuesday and Friday’s regular-season finale at Fruita Monument.

But both games have diminished in importance to the Tigers, who clinched the boys title by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Wildcats (5-3) this weekend.

Central girls winning streak at 13

Plagued by a week of turmoil caused the sudden resignation of head coach Matt Lindholm coupled with the loss of leading scorer Amy Kame to a stress fracture, Central responded by soundly whipping cross-county rival Fruita Monument 44-28 Friday at the Wildcats’ gym.

Senior guard Alaina Brennan eased the team’s burden by producing a game-high 20 points. The victory raised the Warriors’ (8-0, 17-3) current winning streak to 13 straight games.

As Brennan was pacing the offense, the Warriors sealed the win with their defensive skills.

In three of the contest’s four quarters, Fruita was held to eight points or less. Their lowest output of the came, oddly enough, when they held the Warriors to six second-quarter points. Unfortunately, the Wildcats couldn’t respond, adding a mere two points in the stanza. Mary McGee lead Fruita with eight points.

League rival Durango assisted Central to the girls championship when they pinned a 42-40 upset on then second-place Montrose Saturday.

With one week left in the regular season Central, which has league games at Grand Junction on Tuesday and Friday’s home game with Montrose, tops both Durango (6-3) and Montrose (5-3) in the standings.

Should Central drop either or both games, neither the Demons, who have one league game left to play, or Montrose, who has two contests to go in the regular season, can equal Central’s eight SWL wins.