This season hasn't been kind to the Dugway Mustangs, who are still winless after their fourth game. They took a serious blow against Merit Preparatory Academy on Thursday, falling 78-22. Dugway has struggled against Merit Preparatory Academy recently, as their contest on Thursday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Dugway's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tanner Thackeray, who scored 14 points. Thackeray scored a full 63.6% of Dugway's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Hazen Bullcreek, who scored seven points.
Merit Preparatory Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Miles Petersen out in front who scored 21 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that Petersen grabbed two or more steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jakob Hopf, who scored 17 points along with three steals.
Dugway bumped their record down to 0-4 with that loss, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 25.2 points per game. As for Merit Preparatory Academy, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-5.
Dugway will head out on the road to face off against Pinnacle at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Utah (Pinnacle is ranked 118th, while Dugway is ranked 139th). Merit Preparatory Academy won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Monument Valley at 6:00 p.m. on December 15th. Monument Valley is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
