Basketball Recap: Smoky Hill Takes a Loss

On Friday, the Smoky Hill Buffaloes came up short against the Ralston Valley Mustangs and fell 63-53. While losing is never fun, the Buffaloes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Mustangs are ranked first).

When it comes to explaining why Smoky Hill lost, don't look at Kaylan Graham. Despite the final result, he posted 22 points and three steals. Graham has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Carter Basquez, who scored 11 points and five assists.

Tanner Braketa continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Ralston Valley, going 9 of 16 on his way to 24 points and six assists. Another player making a difference was Caiden Braketa, who went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points.

Smoky Hill has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-7 record this season. As for Ralston Valley, the victory keeps them at an undefeated 9-0.

Smoky Hill will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Cherry Creek at 7:00 p.m. on January 22nd. Smoky Hill is facing Cherry Creek at the right time seeing as Cherry Creek is stuck on a five-game losing streak. As for Ralston Valley, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 77-38 win against Bear Creek on the 13th.