Mustang John Maynard prepares to take a shot while surrounded by Banning Lewis players during the Jan. 7 game.
Home court was a lot friendlier to the Manitou Springs boys basketball team on Jan. 7 than it was in the season-opener. That loss to Peyton back in December was filled with indecisiveness and offensive struggles.
That wasn’t the case in the 52-45 win over Banning Lewis. The Mustangs (5-3 overall, 3-0 Tri-Peaks) shot the ball early and shot it well. John Maynard and Lairden Rogge knocked down early 3-pointers and triggered an 18-0 run to start the game for Manitou.
The Stallions battled back, but the Mustangs showed toughness and grit to hang on and get the win for their third straight league victory.
“They’re getting more comfortable inside the team setting with what we’re trying to do,” coach Brian Vecchio said. “I think each guy is getting comfortable in their role and it’s starting to pay dividends a little.”
The overall team approach might be a tad different than anticipated, as Manitou will be without Caleb Allen for the remainder of the season. Vecchio needs to see several kids step up into leadership roles and if the early stages of the Banning Lewis game were any indication, he sees kids on the floor with that capability.
That was also the case in Manitou’s 76-36 win over James Irwin on Jan. 5. Three players scored in double figures as Andrew Rhodes and Anthony Snow scored a game-high 16 points. Parker Salladay chipped in 14, and Maynard and Rogge each had eight.
The Mustangs are figuring out that their success can’t depend on one or two players but rather on the team’s contributions as a whole.
“It has to come from all of us working as a team,” Rhodes said. “It can’t be one of us trying to do our own thing, especially with (the starters) each hopefully getting about 10 points and then the guys off the bench coming in and helping.”
The Mustangs head to Colorado Springs Christian School on Thursday, Jan. 13, and will turn around and host Salida on Saturday, Jan. 15.
They’ll have a big clash with St. Mary’s next week. St. Mary’s is one of the favorites to win the Class 3A state championship, so this will be a big test for this Manitou team.
But the Mustangs can’t focus on next week. The only focus now is using each practice and each game to develop as a team and put themselves in a good position to make the 3A state tournament.
“The motto we’re developing right now is that everyone has a job to do and a role to fulfill,” Vecchio said. “The more we’re able to fill those individual roles, it seems like we’ve had greater success as a team.”