Basketball Game Preview: McClave Cardinals vs. Burlington Cougars

The McClave Cardinals and the Burlington Cougars will face off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest, having both just played. The timing is sure in McClave's favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home while Burlington has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

It was a proper cat-fight when McClave duked it out with Cheyenne Wells on Friday. McClave secured a 44-40 W over Cheyenne Wells.

Tuff Kelley

Rebounds

02/21/25 vs Cheyenne Wells	12
02/20/25 @ Las Animas	13
02/15/25 @ Simla	13
02/14/25 @ Kit Carson	10
02/13/25 vs Swink	14
+ 12 more games

McClave found their leader in sophomore Tuff Kelley, who dropped a double-double with 21 points and 12 boards. Kelley is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in each of the last 17 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Myles Northrup, who posted ten points.

Meanwhile, Burlington played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Simla 81-44. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 234th, while the Cubs are ranked 37th).

Burlington's loss dropped their record down to 6-13. As for McClave, their win bumped their record up to 18-3.