It may have taken double overtime to finish the job, but the Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Del Norte and snuck past 37-35. The win was just what Sangre de Cristo needed coming off of a 51-26 loss in their prior match.
Sangre de Cristo's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kaiden Smit led the charge by dropping a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Smit has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kolby Shellabarger, who scored 11 points along with four steals.
Despite the loss, Del Norte had strong showings from Kelby Mondragon, who scored 18 points along with seven steals, and Lashawn Trujillo, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Mondragon scored 15 or more points.
Sangre de Cristo has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for Del Norte, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.
Sangre de Cristo will head out on the road to take on Centennial at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Centennial has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Del Norte, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Custer County at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Custer County is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
