Basketball Recap: Rifle Takes a Loss

Rifle lost against Grand Junction Central back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Monday. The Rifle Bears opened the new year with a less-than-successful 69-60 loss to the Grand Junction Central Warriors. The Bears have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite the loss, Rifle still got an impressive performance from Alex Gonzalez, who went 11 of 22 on his way to 30 points. The dominant performance gave Gonzalez a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Adan Medina, who posted 11 points and seven rebounds.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Grand Junction Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Adam Tabora, who went 8 for 15 en route to 22 points and three steals. Blake Rooks was another key player, going 6 of 7 on his way to 17 points and five boards.

Rifle's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Grand Junction Central, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-8.

Rifle wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 78-53 loss against Aspen on the 10th. Grand Junction Central has also already played their next contest, a 72-53 defeat against Glenwood Springs on the 9th.