The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers will square off against the Rifle Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Montezuma-Cortez has 23 straight wins, Rifle has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
On Friday, Montezuma-Cortez was fully in charge, breezing past Bayfield 70-36. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 18 matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Trey Hall
| 02/27/26 vs Bayfield | 5 |
| 02/24/26 vs Monte Vista | 7 |
| 02/17/26 @ Ignacio | 6 |
| 02/14/26 vs Pagosa Springs | 8 |
| 02/07/26 @ Alamosa | 5 |
| + 18 more games |
It was another big night for Trey Hall, who shot 5-for-6 from long range and dropped a double-double with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Hall is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Asher Bennetts was another key player, putting up eight points and five boards.
Montezuma-Cortez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Rifle came up short against Coal Ridge on Tuesday and fell 62-50.
Loss or not, Rifle got some senior leadership from Adan Medina and Alexander Gonzalez. Medina posted 12 points in addition to three steals and three blocks, while Gonzalez put up 15 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Those three blocks set a new season-high mark for Medina. Another player making a difference was John Langstaff, who earned five points and five boards.
Rifle's defeat dropped their record down to 10-13. As for Montezuma-Cortez, their victory bumped their record up to 23-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Montezuma-Cortez has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Rifle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
