The Pueblo Central Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Thursday, Pueblo Central beat Pueblo East 58-47. Given Pueblo Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 88th, while Pueblo East is ranked 215th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Xavier Davis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring eight points along with eight rebounds and five blocks. He hasn't dropped below three blocks for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Zach Mehess, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Mesa Ridge had already won 13 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.5 points), and they went ahead and made it 14 on Wednesday. They blew past Harrison 75-55. Mesa Ridge has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 20 points or more this season.
Mesa Ridge got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Tevin Riehl out in front who scored 17 points along with six assists and three blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Riehl, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Pueblo Central is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. As for Mesa Ridge, their victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pueblo Central have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mesa Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pueblo Central ended up a good deal behind Mesa Ridge in their previous matchup back in November of 2022, losing 68-53. Can Pueblo Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
