The Manitou Springs Mustangs will face off against The Vanguard School Coursers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Manitou Springs earned a 58-48 win over Ellicott. The victory continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Thunderhawks: they've now won nine in a row.
Manitou Springs' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Preston Rhodes, who posted 16 points. Another player making a difference was Cohen Barrett, who had 15 points.
Meanwhile, The Vanguard School waltzed into their matchup on Friday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They really took it to the Thunderbolts for the full four quarters, racking up an 85-48 win. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 41-18.
Manitou Springs better keep an eye on Lorenzo Bustamante. He was instrumental in The Vanguard School's win, putting up 33 points. With that strong performance, Bustamante is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of JJ Wetters, who dropped a double-double with ten points and 12 assists.
The Vanguard School pushed their record up to 15-4 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 88.4 points over those games. As for Manitou Springs, their win bumped their record up to 14-6.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Manitou Springs and The Vanguard School are some of the highest-scoring teams around. Manitou Springs hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 55.6 points per game. However, it's not like The Vanguard School struggles in that department as they've been averaging 78.2 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can put up more.
Manitou Springs was taken down by The Vanguard School 63-30 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Manitou Springs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
