Basketball Game Preview: Custer County Bobcats vs. Cripple Creek-Victor Pioneers

The Custer County Bobcats will challenge the Cripple Creek-Victor Pioneers at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

On Friday, Custer County ended up a good deal behind Evangel Christian Academy and lost 62-44. The Bobcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Cripple Creek-Victor lost to KIPP Denver Collegiate at home by a 46-31 margin back in December of 2024. The Pioneers were down 38-18 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Custer County will have to contain Trevor Mirande as he made an impact in Cripple Creek-Victor's last game. He dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Mirande has been hot recently, having posted nine or more rebounds the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Chase Lohmeier, who posted five points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals.

Even though they lost, Cripple Creek-Victor smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Custer County's defeat dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Cripple Creek-Victor, they now have a losing record at 2-3.

Custer County was able to grind out a solid victory over Cripple Creek-Victor in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, winning 47-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for Custer County since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.