Basketball Game Preview: Indian Springs Thunderbirds vs. Tonopah Muckers

The Indian Springs Thunderbirds will square off against the Tonopah Muckers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

It was a Battle of the Birds when Indian Springs took on Spring Mountain on Wednesday. Indian Springs came up short against Spring Mountain, falling 64-42. The Thunderbirds were down 55-28 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Tonopah). They breezed by Beatty to the tune of 56-25 on Saturday. Winning may never get old, but the Muckers sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

Tonopah found their leader in sophomore Landen Blackburn, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. Blackburn's afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Drew Otteson, who posted nine points along with seven boards and three steals.

Tonopah smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.

Indian Springs' defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 6-6. As for Tonopah, they pushed their record up to 9-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.

Indian Springs came up short against Tonopah in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 43-30. Can Indian Springs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.