Pueblo is 2-8 against Cholla since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Pueblo Warriors will head out on the road to face off against the Cholla Chargers at 7:00 p.m. Pueblo is hoping to put an end to a ten-game streak of away losses.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Pueblo ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They walked away with a 58-49 victory over Canyon del Oro. The victory was all the more spectacular given Pueblo's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 248th, while Canyon del Oro is ranked 76th).
Pueblo's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Aiden Cruz, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds. Jacob Maya was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with nine assists and four steals.
Meanwhile, Cholla pushed their score all the way to 57 on Wednesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 68-57 to Catalina Foothills. Cholla has struggled against Catalina Foothills recently, as their matchup on Wednesday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Cholla's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Cyree Jenkins, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Michael Payne who scored 23 points. Payne is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Joel Servin, who scored seven points.
Pueblo's win bumped their record up to 5-18. As for Cholla, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-7.
Pueblo couldn't quite finish off Cholla when the teams last played back in January of 2023 and fell 64-62. Thankfully for Pueblo, Masai Dean (who scored 23 points along with seven assists and five rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
