The Manzano Monarchs pushed their score all the way to 57 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 69-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of Centennial. Manzano has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Manzano's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Donavan Rhodes, who scored 18 points. Rhodes scored a full 31.6% of Manzano's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Joaquin Ramos was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with nine rebounds.
Even though they lost, Manzano were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Centennial found their leader in underclassman Ben Walton, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds. Those seven rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Brady Rewalt, who scored 16 points.
Manzano bumped their record down to 2-3 with that defeat, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. As for Centennial, their win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-3.
Manzano won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Riverside at 2:00 p.m. on December 15th. Riverside is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak. Centennial won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against West Mesa at 5:30 p.m. on December 15th.
