The Palisade Bulldogs's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. They took a 47-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Fruita Monument. Palisade has not had much luck with Fruita Monument recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Palisade had strong showings from Fred Moore, who scored nine points, and Layne Ruppelius, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Fruita Monument to victory, but perhaps none more so than Max Orchard, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds. Orchard has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times he's played. Jhett Wells was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with seven rebounds and four blocks.
Palisade's loss was their fifth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 6-9. As for Fruita Monument, the victory for they keeps them at an undefeated 14-0.
Palisade will head out on the road to take on Glenwood Springs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Glenwood Springs focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Tuesday. As for Fruita Monument, they will be playing at home against Grand Junction at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Grand Junction will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 61st, while Fruita Monument is ranked fourth).
