The Salpointe Catholic Lancers posted their biggest victory since November 30, 2023 on Thursday. They breezed by Pueblo at home to the tune of 56-16. Given Salpointe Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 40th, while Pueblo is ranked 262nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Salpointe Catholic was led to victory by Caiden Johnson and Bobby Smith. Johnson scored 11 points along with two steals, while Smith scored 12 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Rocco Valerdi, who scored six points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pueblo struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Salpointe Catholic pushed their record up to 12-6 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.7 points per game. As for Pueblo, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-16.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Salpointe Catholic and Cienega will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 17th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. As for Pueblo, they will be playing at home against Sahuaro at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
