Basketball Game Preview: Manchester Squires vs. Maconaquah Braves

The Manchester Squires will venture away from home to take on the Maconaquah Braves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Manchester will be looking to extend their current 17-game winning streak.

Last Friday, Manchester strolled past Peru with points to spare, taking the game 71-53. Given the Squires' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while the Tigers are ranked 225th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Gavin Betten continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double with 29 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Manchester's points. Ethan Hendrix was another key player, going 8-for-19 on his way to 19 points in addition to five boards and three steals.

Manchester smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Maconaquah was able to grind out a solid win over Northfield on Tuesday, taking the game 61-54. The victory continues a trend for the Braves in their matchups with the Norsemen: they've now won nine in a row.

Manchester better keep an eye on Josiah Ball. He was instrumental in Maconaquah's win, going 10-for-16 to rack up 28 points and eight rebounds. Ball's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Fuddy Kile, who went 5-for-8 en route to 10 points and three steals.

Manchester pushed their record up to 18-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.9 points. As for Maconaquah, their record is now 14-5.

Manchester didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Maconaquah in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with an 80-75 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Manchester since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.