Two dominant in Elias Schendler and Jeffrey Sturges are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Basalt Longhorns and the Steamboat Springs Sailors will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Basalt has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 204 points over their last three games.
Basalt pushed their score all the way to 62 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 70-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of Moffat County. Basalt found out winning isn't easy when you don't work as a unit and rack up nine fewer assists than your opponent.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Wyatt Loomis, who scored 20 points along with nine assists and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Calum Inglis, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and five steals.
Steamboat Springs posted their biggest victory yet this season on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Rifle 71-41 on the road.
Sturges continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points and 2 assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Steamboat Springs' points. Another player making a difference was Charlie Reisman, who scored 12 points.
Basalt's loss dropped their record down to 6-6. As for Steamboat Springs, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-6.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: Basalt have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.1 threes per game. It's a different story for Steamboat Springs, though, as they've been averaging only 6.5 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Basalt might still be hurting after the 50-24 loss they got from Steamboat Springs when the teams last played back in February of 2023. Can Basalt avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
