Basketball Recap: Palisade Falls Despite Big Games from Hunter Howard and Carter Hayward

Palisade lost against Eagle Valley back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Palisade Bulldogs fell 72-64 to the Eagle Valley Devils. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (55), the Bulldogs still had to take the loss.

Palisade's loss came despite strong showings from Carter Hayward and Hunter Howard. Hayward posted 20 points, while Howard went 6 for 14 on his way to 16 points in addition to eight assists and five rebounds. Howard is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was LJ Ballenger, who scored 11 points.

It was another big night for Dylan Zoller, who went 7 of 13 en route to 22 points along with eight assists and seven boards for Eagle Valley. That's the most assists Zoller has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Brian Fontana, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 16 points.

Palisade's loss dropped their record down to 6-5. As for Eagle Valley, the victory was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-2.

Palisade has already played their next contest, a 42-38 defeat against Montrose on the 14th. As for Eagle Valley, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 78-43 win against Rifle on the 11th.