Basketball Game Preview: Holtville Vikings vs. Southwest EC Eagles

Holtville is on an eight-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Southwest EC a 17-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Tuesday. The Holtville Vikings will host the Southwest EC Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Friday, Holtville took a blow against Brawley, falling 79-52. That's two games in a row now that the Vikings have lost by exactly 27 points.

Meanwhile, Southwest EC was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 69-63 to Palo Verde Valley.

Holtville will need focus on slowing down Jonathan Gracia, one of several Southwest EC players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 9 on his way to 14 points and eight rebounds. The dominant performance gave Gracia a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabriel Gonzalez, who posted 18 points.

Even though they lost, Southwest EC smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.

Holtville's loss dropped their record down to 5-11. As for Southwest EC, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-16.

Holtville lost to Southwest EC at home by a decisive 54-35 margin in their previous matchup last Friday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gonzalez, who went 10 for 20 en route to 27 points and eight steals. Now that Holtville knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.