Basketball Game Preview: Manual Thunderbolts vs. Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy Lions

The Manual Thunderbolts will square off against the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The timing is sure in Manual's favor as the squad sits on six straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.

Last Friday, Manual was able to grind out a solid win over DSST: Montview, taking the game 72-62.

Manual's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Marco Arriaga led the charge by putting up 21 points. Zubayr Carpenter was another key player, going 6 of 11 en route to 14 points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, in a tight match that could have gone either way, Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy made off with a 46-45 victory over Lincoln.

Manual better keep an eye on Jackson Taylor. He was instrumental in Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy's win, going 6 for 13 on his way to 20 points and seven boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylan Jones, who posted five points and eight rebounds.

Manual is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.3 points per game. As for Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy, their win bumped their record up to 3-8.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Manual has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.