In what's become a running theme this season, the Rye Thunderbolts gave their fans yet another huge win on Friday. They breezed by Ellicott on the road to the tune of 66-34. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 38-17.
Rye was led to victory by Brandon Benz and Eli Guzman. Benz scored 23 points, while Guzman scored 22 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Benz continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jay Graham, who scored three points along with nine assists and six rebounds.
Ellicott's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of James Bourgeois, who scored 12 points along with five steals, and Conagher Briggs who scored seven points along with seven rebounds and two steals. That was a full 35.3% of Ellicott's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
The win made it two in a row for Rye and bumps their season record up to 11-5. As for Ellicott, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-16.
Rye will look to defend their home court on Friday against Manitou Springs at 5:30 p.m. Rye is coming into the game with three straight victories at home, so Manitou Springs is out to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. Ellicott will take on Crowley County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing isn't great for Ellicott: they have been struggling with nine straight losses at home dating back to last season, while Crowley County has snatched up eight consecutive wins on the road.
