By Luke Loftus The Johnstown Breeze
2026-01-15 06:00 AM
The Roosevelt High School Rough Riders boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have picked up their seasons again after Christmas break.
The boys went into the break with a 6-2 record, playing well on the defensive end of the floor, getting their hands in passing lanes and forcing turnovers. There have been a few blowout wins and their two losses have been close games.
The girls went into the break at 2-4, struggling on the offensive end of the floor. Their season high in points being 47 before the break.
Now is when the season really begins, playing two or more games a week. The games before the break matter, for sure, but now is the time to begin to play your best basketball.
The boys’ team continued exactly how they left off before the break. Scoring, and forcing the opposing team to turn the ball over often.
January 6, they took on the Greeley Central Wildcats. The Rough Riders played three quarters of great basketball. Taking a 53-36 lead going into the fourth quarter, after a 23-8 third quarter in favor of the Rough Riders. Then in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats answered with a good quarter of their own, outscoring the Rough Riders 27-10 to force this game into overtime. The Rough Riders would eventually end up finding their footing again and take this game by a score of 75-70 after winning the overtime period 12-7.
The Riders were led by senior Brooks Reckard with a team-high 18 points and five assists. He also grabbed six rebounds. Senior Jack Cook had four steals, and junior Noah Lucero continues to get his hands on the ball, tallying three steals. The Rough Riders caused the Wildcats to turn the ball over 19 times.
On January 9, the boys took on the Mountain View Mountain Lions on the road in Loveland. The Mountain Lions would take the lead after the first quarter 20-16, but the Rough Riders bounced back with three straight quarters outscoring the Mountain Lions, ending with a commanding fourth quarter outscoring the Mountain View 24-12. The Riders went on to win 72-51.
Senior big man Brody Burke had an outstanding performance in this one, scoring 25 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
And once again, the Rough Riders have been turning the other team over often. They forced Mountain View to turn the ball over 20 times. Freshman Heydyn Bahnsen-Price lead the team with five steals.
Now, onto the girls who had a slightly disappointing start to the season before the break. But there is a lot of time for them to right the ship. And they took the first step in doing so by beating the Greeley Central Wildcats by a score of 63-42; the Lady Rough Riders’ best offensive output of the season so far. Led by Kyla Lin Hollier who had 34 points and 13 rebounds. Also, Ava Grosboll had 23 points and six rebounds. Freshman Sara Adams also grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Lady Rough Riders also took on the Mountain View Mountain Lions and won the game 51-25. Led by Hollier and Grosboll again. Hollier with 24 points and nine rebounds and Grosboll with 18 points. It was a team effort defensively in this one. The Rough Riders turned over the Mountain Lions 32 times, led by junior Madi Kage, who led the team with seven steals.
They would drop an out of conference game at Grandview in Aurora 61-34.
This week the boys and girls hosted Severance on Tuesday and then are on the road against Berthoud on January 16.