The Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They really took it to Creede for the full four quarters, racking up a 59-11 win at home. Sangre de Cristo has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 22 points or more this season.
Leading Sangre de Cristo to victory were Kaiden Smit and Deagon Rogers. Smit scored 16 points along with four steals and three blocks, while Rogers scored 18 points along with six steals. Smit has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kolby Shellabarger, who scored eight points along with five assists and four steals.
When it comes to explaining why Creede lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lyric Stecken. Despite the final result, he scored four points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Creede struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-3) when they can't control their own glass like that.
The win was the third in a row for Sangre de Cristo, bringing their record for this year to 8-4. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.3 points per game. As for Creede, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-12.
Sangre de Cristo won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Mustangs at 2:00 p.m. on February 3rd. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Colorado (Nucla is ranked 201st, while the Thunderbirds are ranked 208th). As for Creede, they won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Trojans at 6:30 p.m. on February 3rd. Allowing an average of 56.8 points per game, Antonito has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this game.
