Basketball Game Preview: Sterling Raiders vs. Austin Mustangs

Sterling has gone 8-2 against Austin recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Sterling Raiders will face off against the Austin Mustangs at 10:00 a.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sterling has four straight wins, Austin has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Wednesday, Sterling narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Westbury 52-49.

It was another big night for J'Dyen Canady, who went 12 for 19 en route to 29 points. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Dylan Collins was another key player, putting up six points and 15 boards.

Sterling smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Austin was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Wednesday as they fell 81-75 to Madison.

Sterling has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.8 points per game. As for Austin, they now have a losing record at 10-11.

Sterling ended up a good deal behind Austin in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, losing 58-41. Can Sterling avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.