Preview: Highland Hornets vs. Manzano Monarchs
Highland is 7-2 against Manzano since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Highland Hornets will look to defend their home court against the Manzano Monarchs at 7:00 p.m. Highland will be strutting in after a victory while Manzano will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Tuesday, Highland was able to grind out a solid victory over Del Norte, taking the game 39-31. Despite the victory, that was the fewest points Highland has scored all year.
It was another big night for Jesus Licon, who scored 27 points along with three blocks. Licon is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Raul Stanford, who scored three points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Manzano's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their seventh straight loss. They fell 67-55 to Valley. While losing is never fun, Manzano can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 70th, while Valley is ranked seventh).
The win makes it two in a row for Highland and bumps their season record up to 12-4. As for Manzano, they bumped their record down to 4-10 with that defeat, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.
Highland came out on top in a nail-biter against Manzano in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, sneaking past 57-54. Will Highland repeat their success, or does Manzano have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
