The Hayden Tigers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight defeat. They took a 51-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of De Beque. Hayden was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as De Beque apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in February of 2023.
Defeat or not, Hayden got some senior leadership from Cale Howard and Grady Frentress. Howard scored 14 points along with eight rebounds, while Frentress. scored nine points along with seven assists and two steals. That was a full 35% of Hayden's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Logan Brown was another key contributor, scoring five points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Hayden struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as De Beque pulled down 11 offensive rebounds.
De Beque's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Burke Largent, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jace Graham, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds.
De Beque's lineup was just a bit different on Saturday as Wyatt Carman got a bit more time on the court (31 vs. his season average of 13.31). Carman made the most of the opportunity, scoring five points along with seven rebounds. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
Hayden has not been sharp recently as the team has lost ten of their last 13 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season. As for De Beque, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 13-3.
Hayden will head out on the road to square off against Caprock Academy at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Caprock Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for De Beque, they will head out on the road to challenge Vail Mountain at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Vail Mountain is on a three-game streak of home wins, De Beque a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
