Thunderbird is 0-3 against Mesquite since November of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. Both teams will face off at 4:00 p.m. on December 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Thunderbird's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six matches.
Even though Central scored an imposing 61 points on Thursday, Thunderbird still came out on top. Thunderbird walked away with a 68-61 victory over Central.
Thunderbird had a senior duo take command as Paris Strozier jr scored 16 points along with five assists and five rebounds and Will Clark scored 15 points along with six rebounds. That's the first time this season that Clark scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Ryan Calcaterra, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, even though Carl Hayden Community scored an imposing 64 points on Thursday, Mesquite still came out on top. Mesquite enjoyed a cozy 83-64 win over Carl Hayden Community. Given Mesquite's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th, while Carl Hayden Community is ranked 103rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mesquite found their leader in underclassman Desean Middlebrook, who scored 33 points along with eight rebounds. The game was Middlebrook's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Jaylen Wollangk was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with nine assists.
Thunderbird has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. As for Mesquite, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-3.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Thunderbird have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mesquite struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 28.8 rebounds per game. Given Thunderbird's sizeable advantage in that area, Mesquite will need to find a way to close that gap.
Thunderbird was dealt a bruising 84-55 defeat at the hands of Mesquite in their previous meeting back in February. Thankfully for Thunderbird, CohenJ Gonzales (who scored 23 points along with three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
