Basketball Game Preview: Artesia Bulldogs vs. St. Pius X Sartans

Having just played yesterday, the Artesia Bulldogs will jump right back in to play the St. Pius X Sartans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Artesia has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Artesia is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by West Las Vegas to the tune of 79-47 on Thursday. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, St. Pius X won against Del Norte on Tuesday with 70 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Thursday. St. Pius X took their match with ease, bagging a 70-38 win over Bloomfield. Given the Sartans' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 15th, while the Bobcats are ranked 82nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

St. Pius X has also been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.8 points per game. As for Artesia, they pushed their record up to 10-5 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home.

Artesia came up short against St. Pius X when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 60-50. Can Artesia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.