Basketball Game Preview: Sotomayor WILDCATS vs. Taft Raiders

The Sotomayor WILDCATS will take on the Taft Raiders at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sotomayor has three straight victories, Taft has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Friday, Sotomayor was able to grind out a solid win over Stevens, taking the game 61-52.

Sotomayor had a senior duo take command as Demian Joyner dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 boards and Jasiah Saunders went 7 of 16 on his way to 24 points and six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Joyner has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Olubunmi Odewole, who posted four points and eight rebounds.

Sotomayor smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in nine consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Taft had to suffer through a 73-40 loss at the hands of Warren. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 781st, while the Warriors are ranked 334th).

Sotomayor has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.5 points per game. As for Taft, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-15.

Everything came up roses for Sotomayor against Taft when the teams last played back in February, as the team secured a 73-44 victory. Will Sotomayor repeat their success, or does Taft have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.