Basketball Game Preview: Sandia Matadors vs. La Cueva Bears

The Sandia Matadors will head out on the road to face off against the La Cueva Bears at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Sandia knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 17 matches -- so hopefully La Cueva likes a good challenge.

Sandia is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Capital to the tune of 101-50 on Thursday. Given the Matadors' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Jaguars are ranked 59th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sandia can attribute much of their success to Isaiah Brown, who went 7 for 13 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points and six steals, and Thomas Adams, who went 9 of 10 on his way to 22 points along with six rebounds and three steals. With that strong performance, Brown is now averaging an impressive 15.5 points per game. Zaire Ndyabagye was another key player, putting up 11 points and eight assists.

Sandia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, La Cueva waltzed into their game on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They put the hurt on the Golden Eagles with a sharp 79-55 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Bears have posted against the Golden Eagles since February 17, 2022.

La Cueva has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.7 points per game. As for Sandia, their victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-2.

Sandia came up short against La Cueva in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 59-50. Can Sandia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.