The Mesa Ridge Grizzlies came tearing into Thursday's matchup with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They enjoyed a cozy 68-49 victory over Widefield. Given Mesa Ridge's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Gladiators are ranked 266th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bryce Riehl continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 21 points along with eight rebounds and six steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Tanner Widic, who scored 11 points along with eight assists and two steals.
Loss or not, Widefield got some senior leadership from Michael Davenport and Cordae Wade. Davenport scored eight points along with ten rebounds and two steals, while Wade. scored eight points along with six rebounds and two blocks. It was the first time this season that Wade posted two or more blocks.
Even though they lost, Widefield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. This was only their tenth loss (out of 12 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Mesa Ridge pushed their record up to 16-2 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Widefield, their loss dropped their record down to 3-15.
Mesa Ridge will stay at home for another game and welcome the Hornets at 1:30 p.m. on February 3rd. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Johnathan Gonzales and Tevin Riehl. Widefield is on the road again on Saturday and plays the Titans at 1:00 p.m. on February 3rd. The Classical Academy is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
