Basketball Game Preview: Maconaquah Braves vs. Manchester Squires

The Maconaquah Braves will square off against the Manchester Squires at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Maconaquah knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matches -- so hopefully Manchester likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, Maconaquah earned a 61-54 victory over Northfield. The win continues a trend for the Braves in their matchups with the Norsemen: they've now won nine in a row.

Josiah Ball

Points

02/18/25 @ Northfield	28
02/14/25 vs Southwood	17
02/11/25 @ Carroll	33

Josiah Ball was his usual excellent self, going 10-for-16 to rack up 28 points and eight rebounds. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Fuddy Kile, who went 5-for-8 en route to 10 points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Manchester waltzed into their contest on Friday with 16 straight wins... but they left with 17. They took down the Tigers 71-53. Given the Squires' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Tigers are ranked 225th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Maconaquah better keep an eye on Gavin Betten. He was instrumental in Manchester's win, dropping a double-double with 29 points and 15 boards. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Betten has scored at least a third of Manchester's points. Ethan Hendrix was another key player, going 8-for-19 on his way to 19 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Manchester smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Manchester pushed their record up to 18-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points over those games. As for Maconaquah, their win bumped their record up to 14-5.

Maconaquah came up short against Manchester in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 80-75. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Betten, who dropped a double-double with 28 points and 11 boards. Now that Maconaquah knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.