The Manti Templars will face off against the South Summit Wildcats at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Manti's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matchups.
Last Friday, Manti came up short against Delta and fell 68-60. That's two games in a row now that the Templars have lost by exactly eight points.
Dax Anderson
| 02/07/25 vs Delta | 25 |
| 02/05/25 @ Juab | 22 |
| 01/31/25 vs North Sanpete | 26 |
| 01/29/25 @ Carbon | 19 |
| 01/24/25 vs Emery | 16 |
Manti's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dax Anderson, who went 8 for 17 en route to 25 points and three steals, and Carter Mason, who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine assists. The contest was Anderson's fifth in a row with at least 16 points. Coby Rasmussen was another key player, putting up six points.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Manti was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Delta only racked up eight assists.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when South Summit duked it out with Union on Friday. South Summit fell 61-51 to Union. The Wildcats have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second defeat in a row.
Manti will have to contain Logan Woolstenhulme as he made an impact in South Summit's last game. He posted 26 points in addition to eight boards and three steals. Woolstenhulme is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last 21 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Reber, who earned 14 points.
South Summit's loss dropped their record down to 17-6. As for Manti, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Manti has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.6 boards per game. However, it's not like South Summit struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Manti couldn't quite finish off South Summit when the teams last played back in December of 2023 and fell 59-56. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Woolstenhulme, who scored 27 points and seven boards. Now that Manti knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
