The Boulder Panthers pushed their score all the way to 66 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Poudre by a score of 68-66. Boulder was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Poudre apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2023.
Boulder's loss came despite strong showings from Kyle Blauch and Lake Smith. Blauch dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Smith scored 19 points along with five assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Smith has scored all season. George Schmid was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with four steals.
Luke Foster was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 30 points and 16 rebounds for Poudre. Foster has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Pierce Decker, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Boulder has not been sharp recently, as they've lost eight of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-9 record this season. As for Poudre, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-13.
Boulder will take on Fairview at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Fairview focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Friday. As for Poudre, they will head out on the road to square off against Rocky Mountain at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Rocky Mountain's favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while Poudre has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
