Basketball Recap: Fort Morgan Comes Up Short

Fort Morgan was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They were dealt a 71-40 defeat at the hands of the University Bulldogs. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 266th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 108th).

Despite the loss, Fort Morgan still got an impressive performance from JJ Marquez, who posted 19 points. Carlo Bassalle was another key player, putting up seven points and nine boards.

Mustangs

Previous Games

01/21/25 @ University	40-71
01/18/25 vs The Academy	40-68
01/16/25 vs Eaton	39-43
01/11/25 @ Prospect Ridge Academy	41-78
01/10/25 vs Thornton	27-52
+ 2 more games

Even though they lost, Fort Morgan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in eight consecutive matchups.

Leading University to victory were John Elbe and Coehn Nitzel. Elbe went 9 for 15 en route to 21 points and seven rebounds, while Nitzel went 6 of 12 on his way to 14 points in addition to eight boards and five assists. Nitzel is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 12 games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Ethan Abeyta, who went 5 of 6 on his way to 10 points.

Fort Morgan's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for University, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-3.

Fort Morgan will square off against Weld Central at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Fort Morgan is facing Weld Central at the right time seeing as Weld Central is stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for University, they will challenge Eaton at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Eaton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.8 points per game this season.