Basketball Game Preview: Watsonville Wildcatz vs. Hollister Haybalers

The Watsonville Wildcatz will face off against the Hollister Haybalers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Watsonville knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully Hollister likes a good challenge.

Watsonville is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering North Monterey County just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 72-65 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Condors.

Watsonville's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Leon Madec, who went 8 of 14 en route to 20 points in addition to seven boards and six assists, and Max Aceves, who went 8 for 17 on his way to 17 points. Aceves' evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was George Madec, who posted five points and three steals.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Hollister beat Stevenson 41-35 on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Haybalers.

Hollister is also on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.2 points per game. As for Watsonville, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 6-1 and their overall record down to 11-6.

Watsonville strolled past Hollister in their previous meeting on January 7th by a score of 74-55. Will Watsonville repeat their success, or does Hollister have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.