Basketball Game Preview: Penasco Panthers vs. Santa Rosa Lions

Penasco is 1-7 against Santa Rosa since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Penasco Panthers challenge the Santa Rosa Lions at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Penasco will bounce into Thursday's match after beating Escalante, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Penasco was the clear victor by a 56-34 margin over Escalante on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Panthers.

Kaileb Atencio was his usual excellent self, going 7 of 8 en route to 18 points along with five assists and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Angel Romero, who went 7 of 15 en route to 14 points.

Meanwhile, Santa Rosa entered their tilt with Mora on Tuesday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They claimed a resounding 75-40 victory over the Rangers/Rangerettes. That looming 75-40 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Lions yet this season.

Penasco has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.8 points per game. As for Santa Rosa, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3.

Penasco suffered a grim 65-44 defeat to Santa Rosa in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Will Penasco have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.