Bishop Manogue has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Damonte Ranch Mustangs at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday. Damonte Ranch took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Bishop Manogue, who comes in off a win.
Bishop Manogue is ranked highly in their home state, and on Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Grants Pass. Bishop Manogue managed a 48-42 win over Grants Pass.
Bishop Manogue relied on the efforts of Mata Peaua, who scored 16 points, and Milasarai Tau, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tau set a new season high mark in steals with four. Another player making a difference was Fa'anaetaua Puloka, who scored seven points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Damonte Ranch's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their fourth straight loss. They took a hard 59-45 fall against Vanden. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Damonte Ranch came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 54th in Nevada, while Vanden is ranked 226th in California).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Mya Ghisletta, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds. Quinn Garrett was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with seven assists.
Bishop Manogue pushed their record up to 6-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Damonte Ranch, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Bishop Manogue hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 52.9 points per game. It's a different story for Damonte Ranch, though, as they've been averaging only 40.3 points per game. The only thing between Bishop Manogue and another offensive beatdown is Damonte Ranch. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Everything came up roses for Bishop Manogue against Damonte Ranch when the teams last played back in February as the squad secured a 62-25 win. Will Bishop Manogue repeat their success, or does Damonte Ranch have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
