Preview: Steamboat Springs Sailors vs. Basalt Longhorns
Steamboat Springs has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. The Steamboat Springs Sailors and the Basalt Longhorns will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Steamboat Springs posted their biggest victory yet this season on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Rifle 71-41 on the road.
Jeffrey Sturges was his usual excellent self, going 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points and 2 assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Steamboat Springs' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Charlie Reisman, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Basalt struggled with assists on Saturday (Moffat County had nine more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Basalt fell 70-62 to Moffat County.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Wyatt Loomis, who scored 20 points along with nine assists and two steals. Calum Inglis was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with eight rebounds and five steals.
Steamboat Springs' win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-6. As for Basalt, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Steamboat Springs have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 6.5 threes per game. It's a different story for Basalt, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 threes per game. Given Steamboat Springs' sizeable advantage in that area, Basalt will need to find a way to close that gap.
Steamboat Springs took their victory against Basalt in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 by a conclusive 50-24. Will Steamboat Springs repeat their success, or does Basalt have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
