Basketball Game Preview: Maryvale Panthers vs. Browne Bruins

The Maryvale Panthers will square off against the Browne Bruins at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Maryvale is coming into the match hot, having won their last four games.

Maryvale will bounce into Thursday's game after beating South Mountain, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. Maryvale was the clear victor by a 52-26 margin over South Mountain on Tuesday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Jaguars are ranked 259th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Browne earned a 59-50 win over Cibola on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bruins.

Browne's win came from a few key players Maryvale will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Desmynn Beavers-Smith, who posted 15 points and six rebounds. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Dee Shaw was another key player, going 5 for 12 en route to 13 points.

Maryvale is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.5 points per game. As for Browne, their victory bumped their record up to 9-12.

Maryvale strolled past Browne when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 73-54. Does Maryvale have another victory up their sleeve, or will Browne turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.