The St. Mary's Pirates will head out on the road to challenge the Lamar Thunder at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in St. Mary's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four contests.
St. Mary's took a loss when they played away from home last Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They pulled ahead with a 77-76 photo finish over Salida.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead St. Mary's to victory, but perhaps none more so than Bret Stewart, who almost dropped a double-double with 21 points and nine boards. Jeremiah Starr was another key player, going 7-for-12 to rack up 19 points.
St. Mary's 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 nine offensive boards in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lamar was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 55-49 to Manitou Springs. The loss continues a trend for the Thunder in their matchups with the Mustangs: they've now lost seven in a row.
St. Mary's will need to focus on slowing down Diego Estrada, one of several Lamar players who made an impact when they last played. He went 8-for-15 on his way to 19 points and six rebounds. Those 19 points gave Estrada a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gabrian Jacobs, who posted seven points in addition to 11 boards and five steals.
St. Mary's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.0 points over those games. As for Lamar, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Mary's has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lamar struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
St. Mary's was taken down by Lamar 54-19 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lamar's Alex Williams, who went 9-for-22 en route to 20 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks. Now that St. Mary's knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
