The Manhattan Indians will take on the Washburn Rural Blues at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Manhattan has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with five straight defeats, while Washburn Rural will come in with six straight victories.
Manhattan might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 66-65 to Emporia, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Washburn Rural on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Topeka out of the water with a 72-42 final score. Given the Blues' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 17th in Kansas, while the Trojans are ranked 241st in Kansas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Manhattan better focus on containing Kaden Ballard and Brooks Ballard as the pair were huge in Washburn Rural's win. Kaden went 5-for-7 to rack up 13 points and three steals, while Brooks went 5-for-9 en route to 13 points and five boards. What's more, Kaden also posted a 75% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's achieved since back in January of 2024. Simon Rowley was another key player, putting up nine points and five rebounds.
Washburn Rural smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive games.
Washburn Rural's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.0 points over those games. As for Manhattan, their loss dropped their record down to 6-15.
Manhattan was dealt a bruising 74-45 defeat at the hands of Washburn Rural in their previous matchup on February 11th. Will Manhattan have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
