If the Manitou Springs boys basketball team that showed up in the regular season finale against Woodland Park shows up for every district tournament game, the other Tri-Peaks teams are in for a heck of a fight.
The Mustangs (11-8 overall) played with a level of urgency that has been present for their best wins of the season and it showed as they topped the Panthers 66-43 on Feb. 16.
“They got excited about a rivalry game,” coach Brian Vecchio said. “They’ve done that a few times throughout the year. They’re also getting very good at making sure they bring it every day regardless of who we’re playing.”
And as luck would have it, the team they played next, on Feb. 23, was that same Woodland Park team. The result was not available at press time, but regardless of the outcome, the Mustangs will continue their season at the conclusion of the district tournament on Friday and Saturday in Florence.
John Maynard led the scoring effort against Woodland Park with 20 points and Andrew Rhodes kept pace, adding 19 of his own. Both players looked far more energized than earlier in the week when the Mustangs lost to Florence at home.
Every player who checked into the game seemingly took that loss personally, which put them all on a mission to avoid suffering a similar result against Woodland Park.
“We needed something to get us going again,” Maynard said. “That win is definitely going to get us going for districts. We just have to keep that mentality. We have to get out there, we have to win and we have to move on to the next game.”
The biggest problem the team has faced this season is maintaining that attitude on a regular basis. The Mustangs have looked complacent at times after they’ve played and ended up with bad losses like the Feb. 14 loss to Florence and the Feb. 8 loss to Buena Vista.
After seeing the way the Mustangs played in the bounce-back win over Woodland Park, Vecchio is hoping he’ll see a lot more of that over the next couple of weeks.
“Heading into the playoffs, being consistent is really the key,” Vecchio said. “We’ve done a good job when the ball doesn’t stick and we keep moving and get different shots. We do a better job when we’re looking for each other and getting baskets.”