After flying high against Newcomb last Wednesday, Zuni came back down to earth. The Zuni Thunderbirds were beaten by the Tohatchi Cougars 73-43 on Friday. The Thunderbirds haven't had much luck with the Cougars recently, as the team's come up short the last nine times they've met.
Ty'Shawn Nieto
| 01/17/25 vs Wingate | 23 |
| 01/29/25 vs Newcomb | 17 |
| 01/24/25 @ Thoreau | 12 |
| 01/22/25 @ Crownpoint | 12 |
| 01/31/25 vs Tohatchi | 11 |
| + 13 more games |
When it comes to explaining why Zuni lost, don't look at Ty'Shawn Nieto. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 boards. Nieto is becoming a predictor of Zuni's success: when he posts at least ten rebounds the team is 6-3 (and 5-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Terrance Smith, who posted seven points and six boards.
Even though they lost, Zuni smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive contests.
Tohatchi's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Josh Dawes, who earned 27 points. Dawes' evening made it 12 games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. DeAndre Rios was another key player, putting up 20 points.
Zuni's loss dropped their record down to 11-9. As for Tohatchi, the win was the tenth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 18-2.
Coming up, Zuni will square off against Wingate at 7:00 p.m. on February 7th. Zuni is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.8 points per game this season. As for Tohatchi, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, an 81-67 victory against Navajo Prep on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
