Basketball Recap: Sam Lionberger's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Rock Springs over Evanston

Rock Springs suffered their closest defeat since February 23, 2024 on Thursday. They fell just short of the Evanston Devils by a score of 61-59. If the TIGERS were looking for revenge after losing 49-41 to them when the teams met, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Rock Springs' loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sam Lionberger, who went 6 of 7 on his way to 19 points and five assists. The game was Lionberger's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Boston James, who went 7 for 10 en route to 17 points.

Lionberger wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Rock Springs was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Rock Springs has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.4 points per game. As for Evanston, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.

Rock Springs will square off against Kelly Walsh at 7:30 p.m. on January 24th. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Kelly Walsh has three straight victories, Rock Springs has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court. As for Evanston, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 63-45 win against Green River on the 17th.