Basketball Recap: Rifle Comes Up Short

Rifle was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They took a 63-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Delta Panthers. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Panthers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 70-53 back in January.

Ryder Bjurstrom

Points (Career)

02/08/25 @ Delta	9
01/06/25 vs Grand Junction Central	8
12/17/24 @ Battle Mountain	6
01/25/25 vs Coal Ridge	5
01/18/25 @ Moffat County	5

When it comes to explaining why Rifle lost, don't look at Ryder Bjurstrom. Despite the final result, he posted nine points. The dominant performance gave Bjurstrom a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Alex Gonzalez, who scored ten points in addition to eight rebounds and six assists.

Even though they lost, Rifle was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Delta only racked up five assists.

Leading Delta to victory were Erik Baier and JP Gallegos. Baier dropped a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards, while Gallegos almost dropped a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Jackson Kincaide was another key player, putting up ten points and six boards.

Rifle's loss dropped their record down to 3-16. As for Delta, their win bumped their record up to 8-10.

Rifle wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 57-43 defeat against Coal Ridge on the 13th. As for Delta, they will square off against Moffat County at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Delta is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.4 points per game this season.