Basketball Recap: Isaiah Montoya's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Fowler over Simla

Fowler and Simla faced off in a Battle of the Bears on Saturday. The Fowler Grizzlies fell 52-45 to the Simla Cubs. While losing is never fun, the Grizzlies can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 128th, while the Cubs are ranked 38th).

Fowler's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Isaiah Montoya, who posted 14 points. The dominant performance also gave Montoya a new career-high in assists (four). Hagen McCuistion was another key player, putting up nine points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Fowler was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Tatum Kocerha was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 13 rebounds for Simla. The contest was Kocerha's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Caston Cox, who put up 14 points.

Fowler's defeat dropped their record down to 9-4. As for Simla, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season.

The future could be bright for both Fowler and Simla: their next opponents haven't had the best luck recently. Fowler will look to extend Walsenburg's six-game losing streak when the meet at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Similarly, Simla will try to hand Limon their third-straight loss when the two meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.