Basketball Recap: Payson Poland's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Brush over Yuma

Brush lost against Yuma back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Brush Beetdiggers lost 66-40 to the Yuma Outlaws. While losing is never fun, the Beetdiggers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 185th, while the Outlaws are ranked 22nd).

Brush's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Payson Poland, who posted seven points. The dominant performance also gave Poland a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Konrad Castrup, who earned eight points.

Yuma's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brody Sheffield led the charge by putting up 20 points. The game was Sheffield's tenth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonathan Thomson, who put up 13 points.

Brush dropped their record down to 6-5 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.0 points per game. As for Yuma, their record is now 8-2.

Brush will face off against Wray at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Brush is facing Wray at the right time seeing as Wray is stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Yuma, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 60-56 win against Eaton on the 18th.