Basketball Recap: Rawlins Takes a Loss

Rawlins fought the good fight in their overtime match against Newcastle on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Newcastle Dogies by a score of 69-66. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Outlaws have suffered since January 18th.

Despite the loss, Rawlins still got an impressive performance from Damien Vialpando, who en route to 18 points and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Lincoln Searle, who on his way to 12 points and seven boards.

Even though they lost, Rawlins smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Rawlins has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-13 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.3 points over those games. Newcastle's win ended a ten-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-16.

Rawlins didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 51-41 loss against Wheatland on the 22nd. As for Newcastle, they will head out on the road to square off against Glenrock at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.