The Needles Mustangs will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Parker Broncs at 6:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Needles sitting on 18 straight wins and Parker on three.
Needles put the finishing touches on their 12th blowout victory of the season on Friday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 63-30 victory over GV Christian. Given Needles' advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 19th in California, while GV Christian is ranked 88th in Nevada), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Needles to victory, but perhaps none more so than Xavier Russell, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. Russell is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Holden Jones, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, Parker scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Monday. They claimed a resounding 104-29 win over Bourgade Catholic at home. Parker has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 21 points or more this season.
Needles pushed their record up to 18-0 with that victory, which was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 26.36 points. As for Parker, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5 record this season.
Needles came out on top in a nail-biter against Parker when the teams last played back in December of 2023, sneaking past 62-59. Will Needles repeat their success, or does Parker have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
