Basketball Recap: Bloomfield Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Xavier Abernathy and Elijah Cooks

After flying high against Kirtland Central last Friday, Bloomfield came back down to earth. The Bloomfield Bobcats took a 66-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Aztec Tigers on Wednesday. Even though they lost, the Bobcats' still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.3 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).

Xavier Abernathy

Steals

02/07/25 vs Shiprock	7
12/03/24 @ Crownpoint	7
02/26/25 vs Aztec	5
12/12/24 @ Cuba	5
02/21/25 @ Kirtland Central	4
+ 19 more games

Elijah Cooks and Xavier Abernathy certainly did their best on Wednesday to avoid the loss. Cooks dropped a double-double with 15 points and ten assists, while Abernathy shot 50% from the field on his way to 12 points and five steals. Abernathy is becoming a predictor of Bloomfield's success: when he posts at least five steals the team is 3-1 (and 11-12 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Asaias Stover, who posted eight points and six boards.

They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Bloomfield was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Bloomfield has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-13 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.5 points over those games. The win made it two in a row for Aztec and bumps their season record up to 11-17.

Bloomfield does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Aztec, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 66-65 loss against Gallup on the 28th.