Basketball Game Preview: Hagerman Bobcats vs. Jal Panthers

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Hagerman Bobcats face off against the Jal Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday... Hagerman will be strutting in after a victory while Jal will be coming in after a defeat.

Hagerman is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Loving: they outscored them in every quarter. Hagerman put the hurt on Loving with a sharp 64-41 win on Saturday. The Bobcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Jal unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They lost to Texico on the road by a 70-51 margin.

Hagerman is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.1 points per game. As for Jal, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 11-9.

Hagerman was taken down by Jal 64-37 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Can Hagerman avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.