Basketball Game Preview: Village Mountaineers vs. James Irwin Jaguars

The Village Mountaineers will head out on the road to take on the James Irwin Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Village knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matches -- so hopefully James Irwin likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Village took their game with ease, bagging a 60-32 victory over Arvada. The Mountaineers pushed the score to 58-24 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bulldogs cut but never quite recovered from.

Village's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from James Driggers, who en route to 26 points and seven rebounds. The dominant performance gave Driggers a new career-high in points. Carter Sterk was another key player, putting up 16 points and six steals.

Village smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, James Irwin was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their ninth straight defeat. They took a blow against St. Mary's, falling 77-40. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 316th, while the Pirates are ranked 113th).

Village will need to focus on slowing down Jonathan Kimble, one of several James Irwin players who made an impact when they last played. He posted seven points and four blocks.

The win got Village back to even at 10-10. As for James Irwin, their loss dropped their record down to 2-17.

Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's match: Village has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 35.8% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for James Irwin, though, as they've only made 24% of their three-pointers this season. Given Village's sizable advantage in that area, James Irwin will need to find a way to close that gap. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.