Basketball Game Preview: Palmer Ridge Bears vs. Pueblo South Colts

The Palmer Ridge Bears will face off against the Pueblo South Colts at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Palmer Ridge is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.

Palmer Ridge's tournament run continued when they took on Fruita Monument back in December of 2024. Palmer Ridge took a 52-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of Fruita Monument. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 140th, while the Wildcats are ranked 24th).

Palmer Ridge's loss came about despite a quality game from Logan Boyer, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 18 points and four steals. That's the most steals Boyer has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Chaz Connors, who posted nine points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pueblo South). They simply couldn't be stopped on Monday as they easily beat Littleton 80-47. With that victory, the Colts brought their scoring average up to 52.4 points per game.

Pueblo South's win came from a few key players Palmer Ridge will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sergio Salazar, who had 15 points in addition to eight assists and eight boards. Another player making a difference was Caeden Herrera, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.

The win got Pueblo South back to even at 5-5. As for Palmer Ridge, they now have a losing record at 4-5.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Palmer Ridge has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 20.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Pueblo South struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Palmer Ridge was dealt a bruising 83-34 defeat at the hands of Pueblo South when the teams last played back in December of 2021. Thankfully for Palmer Ridge, Maurice Austin (who put up 38 points in addition to five assists and four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.