Basketball Recap: Ben Simons' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Coal Ridge over Palisade

Coal Ridge has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 63-52 to the Palisade Bulldogs on Tuesday. If the Titans were looking for revenge after losing 55-45 to them when the teams met back in December of 2023, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Ben Simons

Rebounds

02/18/25 @ Palisade	9
02/15/25 vs Aspen	10
02/13/25 vs Rifle	15
02/08/25 @ Basalt	12
02/07/25 vs Delta	15
02/04/25 vs Roaring Fork	8

Several Titans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ben Simons, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Simons has been hot, having posted eight or more boards the last six times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Matthew Webber, who posted nine points.

Even though they lost, Coal Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in six consecutive matches.

Hunter Howard was his usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds for Palisade. Palisade is undefeated when Howard posts 20 or more points, but 9-10 otherwise. CJ Mullaney was another key player, going 6-for-7 to rack up 12 points.

Coal Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 15-6. As for Palisade, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-10 record this season.

Coal Ridge and Palisade should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings. Coal Ridge (ranked 77th) will meet Moffat County (ranked 265th) at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Coal Ridge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.8 points per game this season. Meanwhile, Palisade will square off against Grand Junction Central at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday up 127 places (99 vs. 226). Coal Ridge is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.