Kimball is 1-9 against Manteca since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Kimball Jaguars will head out on the road to take on the Manteca Buffaloes at 7:30 p.m. Kimball is hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
On Wednesday, Kimball didn't have too much trouble with Sierra at home as they won 60-45. The victory was just what Kimball needed coming off of a 68-41 defeat in their prior game.
Kimball relied on the efforts of Osama Mirghani, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and two steals, and Madhav Asija, who scored 20 points. That's the first time this season that Mirghani scored 15 or more points. Dawson Pelech was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with seven rebounds.
Manteca was handed a two-point loss in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against East Union on Friday. Manteca blew past East Union 63-27 on the road. Given Manteca's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 258th, while East Union is ranked 993rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Manteca's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Elijah Nelson, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Glasgow, who scored ten points along with six rebounds.
The win got Kimball back to even at 12-12. As for Manteca, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Kimball have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.6% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Manteca struggles in that department as they've made 41.2% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Kimball came up short against Manteca in their previous meeting two weeks ago, falling 54-45. Can Kimball avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
