Basketball Game Preview: Rancho Cotate Cougars vs. Novato Hornets

The Rancho Cotate Cougars just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Novato Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Rancho Cotate's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six matchups.

Rancho Cotate will bounce into Saturday's contest after beating Casa Grande, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. In a tight game that could have gone either way, Rancho Cotate made off with a 59-58 win over Casa Grande. The victory almost wasn't to be: the Cougars were down 54-40 in the third quarter.

Adam Pengel continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, shooting 5-for-8 from deep and almost dropping a double-double on 28 points and nine rebounds. The matchup was his sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Decimus Shaw, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, everything went Novato's way against Kennedy on Saturday as Novato made off with a 56-32 win. The contest marked the Hornets' most dominant victory of the season so far.

Rancho Cotate pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.7 points per game. As for Novato, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-5.

Rancho Cotate suffered a grim 59-34 defeat to Novato in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Can Rancho Cotate avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.