The Palisade Bulldogs were the 54-48 winner over the Summit Tigers when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Palisade fell just short of Summit by a score of 56-54.
Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was LJ Ballenger, who scored 15 points. That's the first time this season that Ballenger scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Fred Moore, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Summit's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sam Eldredge led the charge by scoring 15 points along with seven rebounds. That's the first time this season that Eldredge scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Eduardo Gutierrez, who scored 14 points.
Palisade bumped their record down to 5-6 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Summit, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-2.
Palisade will head out on the road to face off against Rifle at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Summit won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Silver Creek at 5:00 p.m. on January 5th. Silver Creek presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Summit in Colorado (Silver Creek is ranked 23rd, while Summit is ranked 200th).
