Basketball Preview: Prairie View Thunderhawks vs. Monarch Coyotes
Prairie View is 0-3 against the Coyotes since November of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Prairie View Thunderhawks will head out on the road to square off against the Monarch Coyotes at 6:30 p.m. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Prairie View has struggled recently with ten defeats in a row, while the Coyotes will arrive with four straight wins.
Prairie View struggled with assists on Saturday (the Eagles had 16 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Prairie View was outmatched by the Eagles at home and fell 83-36. While losing is never fun, Prairie View can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 244th, while the Eagles are ranked 45th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Javon Brewton, who scored 13 points along with three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Andrew Holman, who scored two points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Monarch's game on Monday was all tied up 27-27 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They walked away with a 56-47 win over Rocky Mountain.
Monarch's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Van Nellessen led the charge by dropping a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Carlson, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds.
Prairie View's defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 4-15. As for Monarch, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season.
Tuesday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Brewton and Carlson. Brewton has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 17.8 points, 1.8 steals, and 2.9 assists. For his part, Carlson has averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 steals, and 2.7 assists.
Prairie View ended up a good deal behind the Coyotes when the teams last played back in February of 2023, losing 69-51. Can Prairie View avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
