The La Junta Tigers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their eighth straight loss. Their tough 68-48 loss to Pueblo County might stick with them for a while. While losing is never fun, La Junta can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 298th, while Pueblo County is ranked 118th).
La Junta lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Ethan Leyba, who scored 17 points. Leyba scored a full 35.4% of La Junta's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Miles Marshall was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with nine rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Pueblo County to victory, but perhaps none more so than Dominic Mauro, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Mauro scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Lowry Kirkland, who scored 18 points along with six assists.
La Junta's loss dropped their record down to 1-8. As for Pueblo County, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
La Junta will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Ellicott at 7:30 p.m. on January 5, 2024. Ellicott comes in still looking for their first win of the season. Pueblo County will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Fountain-Fort Carson at 6:00 p.m. on January 4, 2024.
