Basketball Game Preview: San Angelo Central Bobcats vs. Midland Legacy Rebels

The San Angelo Central Bobcats are taking a road trip to square off against the Midland Legacy Rebels at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

San Angelo Central is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest loss since December 7, 2023 on Tuesday. They fell just short of Permian by a score of 49-47. The game marked the Bobcats' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Meanwhile, Midland Legacy came up short against Frenship on Tuesday and fell 66-55. While losing is never fun, the Rebels can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 302nd, while the Tigers are ranked 60th).

San Angelo Central will have to keep a close watch on Ja'Varion Starling and Diego Rodriguez, a pair of players who had a big impact on Midland Legacy's prior game. Starling dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Rodriguez went 7 of 14 en route to 20 points and five assists. That's the most points Starling has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Tristine Turner, who posted eight points.

Midland Legacy has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 17-13 record this season. As for San Angelo Central, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 23-9.

San Angelo Central took their victory against Midland Legacy in their previous matchup back in January by a conclusive 85-60. The rematch might be a little tougher for San Angelo Central since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.