The Fruita Monument Wildcats will head out to challenge the ThunderRidge Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Fruita Monument sitting on 11 straight wins and ThunderRidge on nine.
Fruita Monument is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Liberty 73-40. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 20 points or more this season.
Jhett Wells
| 02/28/25 vs Liberty | 36 |
| 02/22/25 vs Durango | 16 |
| 02/21/25 vs Montrose | 13 |
| 02/14/25 @ Palisade | 12 |
| 02/11/25 vs Grand Junction Central | 16 |
| + 18 more games |
It was another big night for Jhett Wells, who went 8-for-10 from beyond the arc to rack up 36 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Thomason, who shot 50% from the field en route to 14 points along with seven assists and six rebounds.
Fruita Monument was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, ThunderRidge didn't have too much trouble with Vista PEAK Prep on Friday as they won 59-43. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Bison are ranked 66th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fruita Monument better keep an eye on Drew Paine. He was instrumental in ThunderRidge's win, dropping a double-double with 18 points and 14 boards. Paine is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last 14 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Aman Binu, who went 6-for-7 on his way to 14 points.
Fruita Monument pushed their record up to 20-4 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.5 points over those games. As for ThunderRidge, their record now sits at 19-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Fruita Monument has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like ThunderRidge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Fruita Monument was taken down by ThunderRidge 74-33 in their previous matchup back in February of 2018. Can Fruita Monument avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
