The Air Academy Kadets's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. They fell 62-53 to Lewis-Palmer. While losing is never fun, Air Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 134th, while the Rangers are ranked 38th).
Defeat or not, Air Academy got some senior leadership from Noah Hellem and Max Howery. Hellem scored 22 points, while Howery. dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 41.5% of Air Academy's points, marking the seventh time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Tommy Tygart, who scored five points.
Lewis-Palmer had a senior duo take command as Noah Johnson scored 22 points along with five rebounds and Cohen Edmondson almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Johnson has scored all season. Jonas Miller was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with two steals.
Air Academy has not been sharp recently as the team's lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season. As for Lewis-Palmer, their win bumped their record up to 13-6.
Coincidentally, both teams will both be playing Cheyenne Mountain the next time they take the court. Lewis-Palmer will host Cheyenne Mountain at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, while Air Academy will host them at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
