Leadore is 2-8 against Mackay since December of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Leadore Mustangs will look to defend their home court against the Mackay Miners at 7:00 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Idaho (Leadore is ranked 146th, while Mackay is ranked 131st).
After a string of three wins, Leadore's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They were dealt a 82-31 defeat at the hands of Rockland. Leadore was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 43-18.
The losing side was boosted by Mason Herbst, who scored ten points along with three steals. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 14 times he's played. Braxton Marxer was another key contributor, scoring six points along with two blocks.
Meanwhile, in a tight game that could have gone either way, Mackay made off with a 53-52 win over Sho-Ban. The win was just what Mackay needed coming off of a 61-34 defeat in their prior contest.
Ruger Nicholls and Kaizer Summers were among the main playmakers for Mackay as the former scored 13 points along with eight assists and seven rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 25 points and 12 rebounds. Nicholls has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Holt, who scored five points along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
Leadore's loss dropped their record down to 8-16. As for Mackay, the win got them back to even at 11-11.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Leadore have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mackay struggles in that department as they've been averaging 43 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Leadore came out on top in a nail-biter against Mackay in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 53-50. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Summers, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Leadore still be able to contain Summers? There's only one way to find out.
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