The Grady Bronchos managed to keep up with the Des Moines Demons until halftime on Saturday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Grady took a serious blow against Des Moines, falling 64-25. Having soared to a lofty 58 points in the game before, Grady couldn't push the score so high this time.
When it comes to explaining why Grady lost, one person who can't be blamed is Zane Rush. Despite the final result, he scored 16 points along with nine rebounds. That was a full 64% of Grady's points, marking the ninth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Hays Rush, who scored six points.
Grady struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Des Moines posted 14 assists.
Des Moines was led to victory by Caleb Sumpter and Nash Trujillo. Sumpter dropped a double-double on 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Trujillo dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Trujillo has scored all season. Noah Johnson was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six assists and five steals.
Grady's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for Des Moines, the win (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 13-3.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Grady will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Melrose at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Melrose presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Grady in New Mexico (Melrose is ranked 18th, while Grady is ranked 93rd). As for Des Moines, they will head out on the road to take on Roy/Mosquero at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Roy/Mosquero knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five contests -- so hopefully Des Moines likes a good challenge.
