Basketball Game Preview: Desert View Jaguars vs. Cienega Bobcats

Desert View hasn't had much luck against Cienega recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Desert View Jaguars duke it out with the Cienega Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Desert View is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their eighth straight game on Tuesday. The contest between them and Nogales didn't end well, with Desert View falling 76-57.

Despite the loss, Desert View had strong showings from Luis Felix, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Aiden Beavers, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 13 points in addition to seven assists and six boards. The dominant performance also gave Felix a new career-high in assists (three). Sebastian Gonzalez was another key player, putting up five points.

Meanwhile, Cienega entered their tilt with Flowing Wells on Tuesday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Caballeros 108-44. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 45th, while the Caballeros are ranked 283rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cienega pushed their record up to 17-5 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.8 points per game. As for Desert View, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-19.

Desert View took a serious blow against Cienega in their previous matchup two weeks ago, falling 92-44. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Desert View was down 62-29.