Basketball Recap: Tulare Western Picks Up Sixth Straight Win at Home

Malachi Ficher

Points

02/06/25 vs Lemoore	22
01/31/25 vs Dinuba	15
01/29/25 vs Mission Oak	23
01/23/25 vs Tulare Union	29
01/21/25 @ Lemoore	23
+ 5 more games

Tulare Western had won five straight home games and Malachi Ficher did his part to make it six on Thursday. The Tulare Western Mustangs strolled past the Lemoore Tigers with points to spare, taking the game 59-45 thanks to Ficher, who went 8-for-19 to rack up 22 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. The game was his tenth in a row with at least 15 points.

Aubrey Taylor was another key player, putting up eight points. What's more, he also posted a 80% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's posted since back in December of 2024.

Loss or not, Lemoore got some senior leadership from Papa Laye and Ian Snell. Laye posted 15 points in addition to seven boards and three steals, while Snell earned 11 points and five assists. Another player making a difference was Micah Fox, who put up six points and 13 rebounds.

Tulare Western has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-9 record this season. As for Lemoore, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 16-12.

Tulare Western didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, an 83-73 defeat against Tulare Union on the 11th. As for Lemoore, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 65-46 win against Hanford on the 11th.