The Sand Creek Scorpions will challenge the Air Academy Kadets at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sand Creek has three straight victories, Air Academy has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Saturday, Sand Creek strolled past Widefield with points to spare, taking the game 58-41. Given the Scorpions' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 66th, while the Gladiators are ranked 226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/11/25 vs Widefield | 4 |
| 01/10/25 @ Mitchell | 4 |
| 01/03/25 @ Coronado | 2 |
| 12/20/24 vs Rampart | 2 |
Elijah Brotherns was his usual excellent self, going 8 of 13 on his way to 17 points and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Wuol Chak, who posted 11 points.
Meanwhile, Air Academy lost to Liberty on the road by a 64-48 margin on Tuesday. That's two games in a row now that the Kadets have lost by exactly 16 points.
Sand Creek will have to contain Brody Winnett as he made an impact in Air Academy's last game. He put up 16 points. Those 16 points gave Winnett a new career-high. Levi Wyman was another key player, putting up six points and six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Air Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Air Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Sand Creek, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sand Creek has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Air Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Sand Creek was able to grind out a solid victory over Air Academy when the teams last played back in February of 2020, winning 52-43. Does Sand Creek have another victory up their sleeve, or will Air Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
