Basketball Recap: Walden Grove Skates Past Pueblo with Ease

You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Walden Grove's strategy against Pueblo on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Walden Grove Red Wolves blew the Pueblo Warriors out of the water with a 78-43 final score. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 45-25.

Walden Grove's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mitchel Collins led the charge by going 5 for 9 en route to 15 points in addition to seven assists and seven boards. What's more, Collins also racked up five steals, the most he's had since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Caden Green, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 19 points.

Collins wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Walden Grove was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pueblo only racked up 11 assists.

When it comes to explaining why Pueblo lost, don't look at Anthony Carranza. Despite the final result, he went 8 for 12 en route to 19 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Carranza is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Gio Duarte was another key player, putting up five points and six boards.

The win made it two in a row for Walden Grove and bumps their season record up to 15-11. As for Pueblo, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-17.

Walden Grove and Pueblo could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings. Walden Grove (ranked 161st) will meet Sahuaro (ranked 17th) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Similarly, Pueblo will square off against Buena at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday down 180 places (248 vs. 68).