Basketball Game Preview: El Cerrito Gauchos vs. Albany Cougars

El Cerrito hasn't had much luck against Albany recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The El Cerrito Gauchos will square off against the Albany Cougars at 7:00 p.m. El Cerrito will be strutting in after a victory while Albany will be coming in after a loss.

El Cerrito will head into Friday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a 21-point defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene back in December of 2024. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 32-30 win over Hercules. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Gauchos have posted since November 28, 2023.

Meanwhile, Albany unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. The contest between them and Alhambra didn't end well, with Albany falling 46-31. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 681st, while the Bulldogs are ranked 176th).

El Cerrito's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Albany, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-4.

El Cerrito came up short against Albany in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 40-33. Can El Cerrito avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.