The Greeley West boys basketball team secured its first win of the season against the Northridge Grizzlies in the Greeley Roundball Tournament last night with a final score of 68-52. The Spartans are scheduled to play against Laramie in the next round of the tournament tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Guard Andrew Zepeda was the top scorer of the night with an impressive 27 points, followed by River Ortiz with 19 points, and senior Jacob Flores who contributed 7 rebounds and 2 blocks on the defensive end.

Zepeda explained his thoughts on the game and how his points helped the Spartans to victory. “I feel like I brought the momentum and the energy. When we were down we picked up the energy and said that we wanted to win the game which helped us play hard,” Zepeda said. 

 Although the Spartans initially struggled, trailing 12-1 early in the game, they managed to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 7 by the end of the first quarter. In the following three quarters, the Spartans dominated the game, scoring 55 points and holding the Grizzlies to only 36 points, with an outstanding defensive performance that limited the Grizzlies to only 2 points in the third quarter.

Flores emphasized the importance of the team’s defensive effort in their win against Northridge. “The hustle that we had on defense helped out. Our guards were good with jumping passing lanes and when we got into our set we all did our jobs,” Flores said

Despite not playing a home game, Laramie remains undefeated in their first 4 games of the season, averaging 66 points per game. In their first game of the tournament, Laramie defeated Fort Collins 79-56.

Dominic Flores expresses how the win in Northridge will help them prepare for the upcoming match against Laramie. “We will have more confidence and be more connected. We just have to lock in and play defense, ” Flores said.

Tonights game, long with all other winner’s bracket games, will be held tonight at Greeley Central.