Basketball Game Preview: Manitou Springs Mustangs vs. Rye Thunderbolts

Manitou Springs has gone 7-1 against Rye recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Manitou Springs Mustangs will welcome the Rye Thunderbolts at 7:00 p.m. Manitou Springs is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.3 points per game this season.

Manitou Springs is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging an 80-50 victory over James Irwin. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Jaguars are ranked 326th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Manitou Springs' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ashur Lavigne, who posted 20 points. Lavigne's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Preston Rhodes, who put up 16 points.

Meanwhile, Rye was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They were dealt an 82-38 defeat at the hands of Banning Lewis Academy. The Thunderbolts were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 58-15.

Manitou Springs pushed their record up to 8-4 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.0 points per game. As for Rye, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.

Manitou Springs couldn't quite finish off Rye in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 49-46. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rye's Eli Guzman, who went 10 of 15 en route to 23 points and seven rebounds. Now that Manitou Springs knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.