Preview: Lamar Thunder vs. The Vanguard School Coursers
Lamar is 2-7 against The Vanguard School since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Lamar Thunder just played last night, but they'll still head out to face The Vanguard School Coursers at 3:00 p.m. on January 13th. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Lamar comes in on four and The Vanguard School on seven.
Even though Lamar has not done well against Banning Lewis Academy recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Lamar put the hurt on Banning Lewis Academy with a sharp 43-23 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Lamar has posted yet this season.
Lamar found their leader in underclassman Jacob Dunning, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds. Another player making a difference was Austin Thacker, who scored six points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, even though Florence scored an imposing 69 points on Tuesday, The Vanguard School still came out on top. The Vanguard School walked away with a 78-69 win over Florence. Given The Vanguard School's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 36th, while Florence is ranked 171st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The Vanguard School got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was JJ Wetters out in front who scored 20 points along with seven assists and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Wetters has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Morris, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Lamar is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. As for The Vanguard School, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Lamar have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for The Vanguard School, though, as they've been averaging only 38 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lamar took a serious blow against The Vanguard School in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, falling 68-33. Can Lamar avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
