The Bayard Tigers struggled with assists on Thursday (the Kimball Longhorns had nine more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Bayard had to suffer through a rough 71-31 loss at the hands of the Longhorns. Bayard has not had much luck with the Longhorns recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Bayard's loss came despite strong showings from Zachary Araujo and Caleb Leonard. Araujo scored six points, while Leonard scored nine points along with two steals and two blocks. It was the first time this season that Leonard posted two or more blocks.
Leading Kimball to victory were Kyler Lusche and Brandon Paxton. Lusche scored 17 points along with two steals and two blocks, while Paxton almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Paxton is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last 11 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryker Behrend, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Bayard's loss was their seventh straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-13. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 29.0 points per game. As for Kimball, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6.
Bayard won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against the Mustangs at 12:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Gordon-Rushville comes in still looking for their first win of the season. As for Kimball, they won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Mitchell is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
