After flying high against the Center Vikings last Saturday, the Peyton Panthers came back down to earth. Peyton took a 60-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Salida on Thursday. If Peyton hoped to take revenge for the 63-33 loss against they when the teams met, then they were left disappointed.
Peyton lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Michael Perry, who scored 16 points along with seven assists and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayden Breese, who scored 13 points along with nine rebounds.
Even though they lost, Peyton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Salida got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Dylan Grant out in front who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that Grant scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Ryan Osness, who scored 16 points along with three steals.
Peyton's defeat dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Salida, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 7-2.
Peyton will head out on the road to take on Fowler at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Salida won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Manitou Springs at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. Manitou Springs will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 203rd, while Salida is ranked 60th).
