The Tintic Miners pushed their score all the way to 57 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They received a tough blow as they fell 74-57 to Rich. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (55), Tintic still had to take the loss.
Cole Ward and Luke Larsen certainly did their best on Saturday to avoid the loss. Ward scored 15 points along with six rebounds and five assists, while Larsen scored 15 points along with eight rebounds. Larsen is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for four games straight. Another player making a difference was Hagen Barton, who scored ten points.
Rich's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaden Desch led the charge by shooting 5-for-9 from long range and dropping a triple-double on 23 points, 18 rebounds, and ten assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Desch has scored all season. Ridge Lundgren was another key contributor, scoring 18 points along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Tintic has not been sharp recently as the team's lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-10 record this season. As for Rich, the victory was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-4.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Tintic and the Mustangs will face off at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Bryce Valley is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses. As for Rich, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Longhorns at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
