Basketball Recap: Brody Cleaver Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Manti

Delta hadn't done well against Manti recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Delta Rabbits walked away with a 68-60 win over the Manti Templars. This was a revenge game for the Rabbits: when they faced off against the Templars back in January, they had to take a 73-68 defeat.

Brody Cleaver

Steals (Career)

02/07/25 @ Manti	3
02/05/25 vs Richfield	1
01/29/25 @ Juab	1
01/22/25 vs Carbon	1
01/17/25 @ Emery	1

Delta's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brody Cleaver led the charge by going 5-for-6 to rack up 11 points along with six boards and three steals. Those three steals gave Cleaver a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Bronco Bundy, who went 6-for-11 en route to 17 points.

Manti's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dax Anderson, who went 8-for-17 on his way to 25 points and three steals, and Carter Mason, who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine assists. The matchup was Anderson's fifth in a row with at least 16 points. Coby Rasmussen was another key player, putting up six points.

The victory made it two in a row for Delta and bumps their season record up to 12-10. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.5 points over those games. As for Manti, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-14.

Delta and Manti are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Delta will face off against Judge Memorial Catholic at 1:00 p.m. on February 15th. Judge Memorial Catholic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 63.2 points per game this season. As for Manti, they will square off against South Summit at 1:00 p.m. on February 15th. Manti knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five games -- so hopefully South Summit likes a good challenge.