Basketball Preview: Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds vs. Nucla Mustangs
The Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds will square off against the Nucla Mustangs at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Sangre de Cristo scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They really took it to Centennial for the full four quarters, racking up a 55-20 win on the road. Sangre de Cristo has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 22 points or more this season.
Sangre de Cristo's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaiden Smit, who almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine rebounds. Smit hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. Deagon Rogers was another key contributor, scoring 22 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Nucla's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their third straight loss. Their rough 75-55 loss to Mancos might stick with them for a while. Nucla has struggled against the Bluejays recently, as their game on Thursday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
Sangre de Cristo is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Nucla, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Sangre de Cristo came up short against the Mustangs when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 65-56. Can Sangre de Cristo avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
