Preview: Mullen Mustangs vs. ThunderRidge Grizzlies
Mullen has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the ThunderRidge Grizzlies at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Mullen's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though Denver East scored an imposing 66 points on Saturday, Mullen still came out on top. Mullen took their game against Denver East 78-66. The win was all the more spectacular given Mullen's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 127th, while Denver East is ranked 35th).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Mullen to victory, but perhaps none more so than Anderson Brendle, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and six steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Brendle has scored at least 25% of Mullen's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Leslie, who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and seven assists.
ThunderRidge has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 30 points or more this season. They took their contest at home on Saturday with ease, bagging a 76-43 victory over United. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win ThunderRidge has managed all season.
ThunderRidge got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Charlie Spann out in front who scored 16 points. The matchup was Spann's third in a row with at least ten points. Tommy Wight was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Mullen pushed their record up to 6-2 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.5 points per game. As for ThunderRidge, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 8-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Mullen and ThunderRidge are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Mullen hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 74.4 points per game. It's a different story for ThunderRidge, though, as they've been averaging only 57.4 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Mullen might still be hurting after the 80-59 loss they got from ThunderRidge in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Can Mullen avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
