Basketball Game Preview: Santana Sultans vs. El Capitan Vaqueros

Santana hasn't had much luck against El Capitan recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Santana Sultans will host the El Capitan Vaqueros at 5:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Santana's tournament run continued when they took on Point Loma last Monday. Santana lost 78-58 to Point Loma. While losing is never fun, the Sultans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 694th, while the Pointers are ranked 292nd).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask El Capitan). They blew past San Ysidro 78-45 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Vaqueros have posted since December 27, 2023.

El Capitan's win came from a few key players Santana will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jason Wilson, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 16 points along with five assists and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Brandt Barker, who went 5 of 6 en route to 14 points and seven rebounds.

El Capitan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matchups.

Santana's defeat dropped their record down to 9-6. As for El Capitan, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-13.

Santana ended up a good deal behind El Capitan when the teams last played back in January of 2024, losing 72-55. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Wilson, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 22 points along with six assists and four steals. Now that Santana knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.