Basketball Recap: Thursday's Win Is Mainland's Fifth in Last Six Outings

Mainland had won two straight home games and Kade Manley did his part to make it three on Thursday. Everything went the Mainland Buccaneers' way against the Altamonte Christian Eagles as the Mainland Buccaneers made off with a 77-53 win thanks in part to Manley, who went 8 of 16 en route to 29 points and five steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Mainland's points.

The team also got some help courtesy of Canyon Powers, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine boards. What's more, he also racked up three steals, the most he's had since back in December of 2024.

Altamonte Christian's loss came despite strong showings from Ryan Almeda and Tre Jones. Almeda posted 27 points and four steals, while Jones put up 13 points and five rebounds. Almeda continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Josiah Glaude was another key player, putting up five points and six boards.

Mainland is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points per game. As for Altamonte Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-14.

Mainland will look to defend their home court on Monday against Seabreeze at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Mainland's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six contests. As for Altamonte Christian, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 56-54 victory against Pathways on the 24th.