Basketball Recap: Merced Drops Season-High Score on Buhach Colony

Bears

Team Score (Highest)

02/07/25 vs Buhach Colony	93
02/05/25 vs Los Banos	90
11/23/24 vs Livingston	75
01/31/25 @ El Capitan	72
12/20/24 vs Bourgade Catholic	71

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Merced). They breezed past the Buhach Colony Thunder to the tune of 93-45 on Friday. The Bears have beaten the Thunder the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Thunder has come to flipping the script.

Merced's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jovian Martinez led the charge by going 7 for 9 on his way to 20 points and five boards. The dominant performance also gave Martinez a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Aiden Matsuo, who went 5 of 8 to rack up 14 points and seven assists.

Merced was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive games.

Buhach Colony's loss came despite strong showings from Elijah Garza and Carter Chapman. Garza posted 13 points, while Chapman went 5 for 11 en route to 14 points. Hector Alcantar was another key player, putting up eight points.

Merced's record now sits at 17-9. As for Buhach Colony, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine contests, which has put a noticeable dent in their 10-15 record this season.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Merced will square off against Atwater at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Atwater has won three straight at home, while Merced won six straight on the road), something that'll have to change. As for Buhach Colony, they will face off against Los Banos at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Buhach Colony is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.8 points per game this season.