Basketball Recap: Elias Schendler's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Basalt over Montrose

After flying high against Roaring Fork last Saturday, Basalt came back down to earth. The Basalt Longhorns took a 50-41 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Montrose Red Hawks on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Longhorns can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 131st, while the Red Hawks are ranked 20th).

Basalt's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Elias Schendler, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 14 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Zealand Lane, who posted ten points.

Montrose's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kaleb Ferguson led the charge by putting up 13 points and four steals. What's more, Ferguson also racked up three assists, the most he's had since back in December of 2023. CJ Rocco was another key player, posting 13 points and eight rebounds.

Basalt has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season. As for Montrose, their victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-1.

Basalt will host Moffat County at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Basalt is facing Moffat County at the right time seeing as Moffat County is stuck on a four-game losing streak. As for Montrose, they will venture away from home to challenge Alamosa at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Montrose is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.2 points per game this season.