Basketball Game Preview: Manitou Springs Mustangs vs. St. Mary's Pirates

The Manitou Springs Mustangs will challenge the St. Mary's Pirates at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Manitou Springs is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped back in December of 2024 as they easily beat Mitchell 74-34. With the Mustangs ahead 44-13 at the half, the match was all but over already.

Cohen Barrett was the offensive standout of the game as he posted 18 points. Another player making a difference was Jon Polizzi, who scored ten points.

Meanwhile, St. Mary's entered their tilt with Sierra on Wednesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They really took it to the Stallions for the full four quarters, racking up a 67-39 victory. The Pirates have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 21 points or more this season.

St. Mary's win came from a few key players Manitou Springs will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Desmond Burns, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 14 points and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Bret Stewart, who put up eight points in addition to seven assists and three steals.

St. Mary's was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matchups.

St. Mary's pushed their record up to 3-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points per game. As for Manitou Springs, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-2.

Manitou Springs was able to grind out a solid win over St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 45-38. The rematch might be a little tougher for Manitou Springs since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.