Basketball Game Preview: Manchester Red Hawks vs. Southington Blue Knights

The Manchester Red Hawks will take on the Southington Blue Knights at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Manchester knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 22 matches -- so hopefully Southington likes a good challenge.

Manchester is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: Windsor, who was ranked 11th at the time (Manchester was ranked second). Manchester took a 68-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of Windsor.

Will Oden-Tann

Field Goal Percentage

02/20/25 vs Windsor	45%
02/18/25 vs Tolland	55%
02/14/25 @ East Hartford	46%
02/11/25 vs RHAM	62%
02/08/25 @ South Windsor	55%
+ 4 more games

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Will Oden-Tann, who went 5-for-11 on his way to 18 points and three steals. He is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last nine games he's played. Derrick Sheets was another key player, going 6-for-14 en route to 16 points.

Meanwhile, Southington was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 60-54 to Bloomfield.

Manchester's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 20-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 22.2 points. As for Southington, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-5.

Everything came up roses for Manchester against Southington in their previous meeting back in March of 2021, as the team secured an 87-57 win. Does Manchester have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southington turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.