Basketball Game Preview: Los Gatos Wildcats vs. Aptos Mariners

The Los Gatos Wildcats and the Aptos Mariners will face off at 8:00 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Aptos is hoping to do what Soquel couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Los Gatos' winning streak, which now stands at three games. Los Gatos sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 61-59 victory over Soquel. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 51st, while the Knights are ranked 462nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Los Gatos had a senior duo take command as Anthony Martin went 9 of 18 on his way to 21 points and eight boards and Osha Moloney went 6 of 15 on his way to 16 points and seven rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Martin has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Zach Otoupal, who posted six points and nine rebounds.

Los Gatos smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Aptos, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They came out on top against Pioneer by a score of 59-47 on Thursday.

Aptos is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Los Gatos, their win bumped their record up to 8-1.

Los Gatos came out on top in a nail-biter against Aptos in their previous meeting back in December of 2019, sneaking past 44-41. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Aptos' Jojoe Moreno, who put up 18 points and four steals. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Los Gatos to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.