The West Elk Patriots struggled with assists on Friday (the Caldwell Bluejays had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. West Elk took a hard 58-41 fall against Caldwell. West Elk has not had much luck with Caldwell recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
West Elk's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Uriah Tillapaugh, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Tillapaugh is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Martin Shipley was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Caldwell's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jackson Risley, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. Risley has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mak Blosser, who scored 20 points along with four steals.
West Elk's loss dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Caldwell, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 7-10.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. West Elk will take on Flinthills at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully West Elk focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Friday. As for Caldwell, they will head out on the road to square off against Argonia at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Argonia is coming into the matchup with six straight victories at home, so Caldwell is out to stop a squad with plenty of momentum.
