Basketball Game Preview: Manteca Buffaloes vs. Mountain House Mustangs

The Manteca Buffaloes will square off against the Mountain House Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Manteca took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They slipped by Central Catholic 48-47. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Buffaloes as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Manteca's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Lana Bondoc, who went 5 for 12 on her way to 13 points and seven rebounds. The dominant performance gave Bondoc a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaesha Dunn, who posted five points along with 11 boards and three steals.

Manteca was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Mountain House had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.5 points) and they went ahead and made it nine on Tuesday. They took down the Timberwolves 55-38. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 185th, while the Timberwolves are ranked 437th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mountain House pushed their record up to 17-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.2 points per game. As for Manteca, their win bumped their record up to 7-13.

Manteca was taken down by Mountain House 55-26 in their previous matchup on January 2nd. Can Manteca avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.