Basketball Game Preview: Ceres Bulldogs vs. Beyer Patriots

The Ceres Bulldogs will face off against the Beyer Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Ceres is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Grace Davis on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Ceres lost 78-55 to Grace Davis.

Ceres might have lost, but man, Manuel Ortega was a machine: he went 13 for 29 on his way to 32 points. That was a full 58.2% of Ceres' points, marking the third time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Jaylen Pettigrew, who earned ten points.

Even though they lost, Ceres smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in ten consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Beyer came tearing into Saturday's contest with ten straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.9 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Tigers as they made off with an 82-62 victory. The Patriots have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matches by 20 points or more this season.

Beyer's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.8 points per game. As for Ceres, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-12 record this season.

Ceres beat Beyer 57-50 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ceres since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.