The Rye Thunderbolts had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 28.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They had just enough and edged Manitou Springs out 49-46. For Rye, this counts as revenge for the 69-52 loss Manitou Springs walked away with the last time they faced one another back in February of 2023.
Rye found their leader in underclassman Eli Guzman, who scored 23 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Guzman has scored all season. Jay Graham was another key contributor, scoring five points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Rye is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Manitou Springs, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-11.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Rye will take on Peyton at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Rye focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Friday. Manitou Springs' road trip will continue as they head out to face Alamosa at 7:30 p.m. on February 13th.
