Preview: Palmer Ridge Bears vs. Mesa Ridge Grizzlies
The Palmer Ridge Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully Palmer Ridge focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Tuesday.
Palmer Ridge suffered their closest defeat yet this season on Tuesday. They fell just short of Air Academy by a score of 53-51. Palmer Ridge has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The losing side was boosted by Logan Boyer, who scored 12 points. Jimmer Weir was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Meanwhile, Mesa Ridge waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with eight straight wins but they left with nine. Everything went their way against Canon City as Mesa Ridge made off with a 66-45 win. Mesa Ridge has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 21 points or more this season.
Tevin Riehl and Bryce Riehl were among the main playmakers for Mesa Ridge as the former scored 16 points along with seven assists and five steals and the latter dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Riehl hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Zander Iwanski, who scored 12 points along with three steals.
Palmer Ridge now has a losing record at 7-8. As for Mesa Ridge, their win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2.
Saturday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Palmer Ridge have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 40.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Mesa Ridge struggles in that department as they've drained 45.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Palmer Ridge might still be hurting after the 64-42 loss they got from Mesa Ridge in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. Will Palmer Ridge have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
