Basketball Game Preview: Norco Cougars vs. King Wolves

Norco hasn't had much luck against King recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Norco Cougars are taking a road trip to challenge the King Wolves at 6:00 p.m. Norco is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.4 points per game this season.

Norco is headed into Monday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Thursday. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 45-40 heartbreaker at the hands of Santiago. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 699th, while the Sharks are ranked 146th).

Ryan Ibbetson

Rebounds

01/23/25 @ Santiago	14
12/06/24 @ Eisenhower	13
11/30/24 @ North	13
12/30/24 @ Calvary Chapel	12
01/16/25 @ King	12

Norco's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Ryan Ibbetson, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 boards, and Edgar Mojica, who posted nine points along with seven rebounds and three steals. That's the most boards Ibbetson has posted since back in December of 2024.

Meanwhile, King was able to grind out a solid win over Arlington on Friday, taking the game 63-55.

King has also been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-14 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.8 points per game. As for Norco, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-17.

Norco came up short against King in their previous matchup last Thursday, falling 51-38. Can Norco avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.