The Front Range Baptist Falcons pushed their score all the way to 55 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 67-55 to Belleview Christian. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Front Range Baptist in their matchups with Belleview Christian: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the defeat, Front Range Baptist had strong showings from Stephen Manthei, who scored 16 points, and Alex Prelog, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. That's the first time this season that Manthei scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mark Sutton, who scored eight points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Front Range Baptist smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Belleview Christian only pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Belleview Christian's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Garrett Owen, who scored 18 points along with four steals and two blocks. Owen hasn't dropped below two steals for 11 straight games. Joshua Norman was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Front Range Baptist has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-3 record this season. As for Belleview Christian, they pushed their record up to 11-1 with that victory, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Front Range Baptist will take on Lone Star at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Lone Star will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 306th, while Front Range Baptist is ranked 148th). As for Belleview Christian, they will head out on the road to square off against Dawson School at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
