Basketball Game Preview: Manitou Springs Mustangs vs. Lamar Thunder

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Previous Games

02/02/24 - Away	42-38 W
02/03/23 - Home	62-38 W
02/04/22 - Away	46-27 W
02/23/21 - Home	71-33 W
02/01/20 - Away	71-46 W
+ 5 more games

Manitou Springs is 8-2 against Lamar since January of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Manitou Springs Mustangs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Lamar Thunder at 1:00 p.m.

On Thursday, Manitou Springs lost to Salida on the road by a 62-44 margin. The Mustangs haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Lamar over Rye in every quarter on their way to victory on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Lamar blew Rye out of the water with a 65-18 final score. The Thunder have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 32 points or more this season.

Lamar's win came from a few key players Manitou Springs will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gabrian Jacobs, who posted seven points along with four blocks and three steals. Another player making a difference was Diego Estrada, who had nine points and four steals.

Lamar was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.1 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 9.8.

Lamar is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.7 points over those games. As for Manitou Springs, their loss dropped their record down to 12-5.

Manitou Springs didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Lamar in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 42-38 win. Does Manitou Springs have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lamar turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.