Basketball Game Preview: Pioneer Diamondbacks vs. McAllen Memorial Mustangs

Pioneer and McAllen Memorial are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2018, but not for long. The Pioneer Diamondbacks will head out on the road to square off against the McAllen Memorial Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Tuesday, Pioneer earned a 48-35 victory over Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, McAllen Memorial entered their tilt with Rowe on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Warriors, sneaking past 56-54. The win was all the more spectacular given the Mustangs' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 239th, while the Warriors are ranked 111th).

McAllen Memorial's win came from a few key players Pioneer will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Eva Villarreal, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 boards. She is trending in the right direction considering she's improved her point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Ann Mabadeje, who went 5 of 9 on her way to 13 points along with six boards and three steals.

McAllen Memorial pushed their record up to 17-6 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.5 points per game. As for Pioneer, they have been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a massive bump to their 13-9 record this season.

Pioneer skirted past McAllen Memorial 41-38 when the teams last played back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pioneer since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.