It was a good run, but the Manual Thunderbolts unfortunately witnessed the end of their six-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 73-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of Forge Christian. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Manual has scored all season.
When it comes to explaining why Manual lost, one person who can't be blamed is Marquell Marquez. Despite the final result, he scored 33 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Marquez has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Nigel Jones, who scored six points.
Manual struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
It was another big night for Owen Hovis, who scored 31 points along with six rebounds and three steals for Forge Christian. Hovis has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Levi Clark, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds.
Manual's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-2. As for Forge Christian, their victory was their 13th straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-1.
Manual will be playing at home against Thomas MacLaren School at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Thomas MacLaren School will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Colorado Rankings (they are ranked 145th, while Manual is ranked 49th). Forge Christian will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Colorado Springs Christian at 1:00 p.m. on January 20th. Colorado Springs Christian is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
