The Colorado Springs Christian Lions will face off against the St. Mary's Pirates at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Colorado Springs Christian has given up an average of 50.1 points per game this season, so hopefully the team got some defensive drills in this week.
On Friday, Colorado Springs Christian ended up a good deal behind Banning Lewis Academy and lost 64-45.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Sam Salsbery, who went 5-for-8 on his way to 13 points and seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Maximiliano Cota-Cordova, who posted 13 points.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, St. Mary's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They took a 54-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of The Vanguard School.
Colorado Springs Christian will have to keep a close watch on Jeremiah Starr and Kisean Dawson, a pair of players who had a big impact on St. Mary's prior game. Starr shot 62% from the field to rack up 21 points and six boards, while Dawson dropped a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds. Starr's big performance that evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bret Stewart, who scored four points and seven assists.
Even though they lost, St. Mary's was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. This was only their sixth loss (out of 19 games) when they've passed the ball that well.
St. Mary's loss dropped their record down to 14-8. As for Colorado Springs Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Colorado Springs Christian has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.2 boards per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Colorado Springs Christian beat St. Mary's 55-44 in their previous matchup back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Colorado Springs Christian since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
