Basketball Game Preview: Wiregrass Ranch Bulls vs. Mitchell Mustangs

The Wiregrass Ranch Bulls and the Mitchell Mustangs will compete for holiday cheer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Wiregrass Ranch's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.

Wiregrass Ranch is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Vanguard just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Saturday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 58-57 to the Knights. The game marked the Bulls' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Defeat or not, Wiregrass Ranch got some senior leadership from Kj Smith and Kyden Wiley. Smith went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and six rebounds, while Wiley went 5 of 6 on his way to 11 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Smith's evening made it eight games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Donovan Gaines, who posted 12 points.

Even though they lost, Wiregrass Ranch smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mitchell, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Gulf on Friday as Mitchell made off with a 72-50 win. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 22 points or more this season.

Wiregrass Ranch's loss dropped their record down to 7-2. As for Mitchell, with the victory, they broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 3-4.

Wiregrass Ranch was able to grind out a solid win over Mitchell when the teams last played back in December of 2023, winning 84-76. Does Wiregrass Ranch have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mitchell turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.