After both having extra time off, the Overland Trailblazers and the Broomfield Eagles will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Overland fought the good fight in their overtime game against Liberty last Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 70-69 to the Lions. The Trailblazers' defeat continues a trend for the squad, making it three in a row.
Loss or not, Overland got some senior leadership from Siraaj Ali and Isreal Littleton. Ali went 13 of 24 en route to 30 points, while Littleton went 8 for 11 on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Mehki Mcneal, who posted eight points.
Meanwhile, Broomfield was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap last Saturday as they fell 70-65 to Arapahoe.
Overland will need focus on slowing down Will Lapham, one of several Broomfield players who made an impact when they last played. He put up 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Schmidt, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 14 points.
Broomfield has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-4 record this season. As for Overland, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Overland has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Broomfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Overland came up short against Broomfield when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 75-70. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Broomfield's Blaes Kane, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 boards. Now that Overland knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
