Basketball Game Preview: Ceres Bulldogs vs. Johansen Vikings

The Ceres Bulldogs will challenge the Johansen Vikings 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.

In Monday's Canine Competition, Ceres prevailed. They came out on top against Livingston by a score of 61-48 on Monday.

Ceres had a senior duo take command as Manuel Ortega went 8 of 20 on his way to 22 points along with five rebounds and five steals and Somil Bonsal posted 12 points in addition to eight steals and five boards. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Bonsal has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Cashton Almeida, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 10 points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Johansen lost to Beyer at home by a 74-60 margin on Monday.

Ceres will need focus on slowing down Julian Davis, one of several Johansen players who made an impact when they last played. He had 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenneth Walker, who posted 13 points.

Johansen's loss dropped their record down to 10-5. As for Ceres, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-9.

Ceres and Johansen were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but Ceres came up empty-handed after a 57-56 defeat. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Johansen's Wilbert Gaxiola, who put up 24 points. Now that Ceres knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.