Basketball Game Preview: Atwater Falcons vs. Merced Bears

Atwater has gone 9-1 against Merced recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Atwater Falcons will face off against the Merced Bears at 7:15 p.m. Atwater is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 68.3 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, Atwater came up short against El Capitan and fell 57-47.

Jolie Hart

Points (Career)

02/06/25 @ El Capitan	18
01/23/25 vs Merced	16
12/21/24 vs Antelope	16
02/19/24 vs Vanden	15
01/14/25 vs Los Banos	14

Despite the loss, Atwater had strong showings from Cami Gibson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 boards, and Jolie Hart, who posted 18 points and seven rebounds. Those 18 points gave Hart a new career-high.

Even though they lost, Atwater 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 ten offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Merced's strategy against Buhach Colony on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Merced blew Buhach Colony out of the water with a 56-7 final score. The Bears haven't had any issues with the Thunder recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Merced's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-10. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points over those games. As for Atwater, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 21-5.

Everything came up roses for Atwater against Merced when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 75-25 win. In that game, Atwater amassed a halftime lead of 41-16, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.