Basketball Game Preview: Owyhee Braves vs. Wells Leopards

The Owyhee Braves will head out to square off against the Wells Leopards at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Owyhee is looking for their season's first win.

Last Tuesday, Owyhee came up short against Dayton and fell 41-29. While losing is never fun, the Braves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 95th, while the Dust Devils are ranked 14th).

Owyhee's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Rolando Espitia, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 boards, and Hunter Smart, who posted 13 points. That was a full 44.8% of Owyhee's points, marking the third time in a row he's had more than a third of the team's points.

While Wells didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They snuck past American Heritage Academy with a 45-41 victory two weeks ago.

Owyhee's defeat dropped their record down to 0-9. As for Wells, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 8-5 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Owyhee against Wells in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the squad secured a 76-45 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Owyhee since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.