Basketball Recap: Friday's Victory Is La Cueva's Tenth in Last 12 Outings

Bears

Margin (Wins)

01/28/25 @ Capital	35
02/12/25 vs Eldorado	34
12/13/24 vs Piedra Vista	32
02/14/25 vs Capital	30
01/14/25 vs Clovis	26

La Cueva had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 20-point drubbing they dealt Manzano on Friday. The La Cueva Bears blew past the Manzano Monarchs 70-50. The Bears have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 20 points or more this season.

La Cueva was led to victory by Hunter Butler and Tre Cowles. Butler dropped a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards, while Cowles to rack up 20 points and eight rebounds. The dominant performance gave Butler a new career-high in boards. Tony Trujillo was another key player, putting up eight points in addition to six assists and six rebounds.

La Cueva was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Manzano's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Estevan Gonzalez, who posted 12 points along with five assists and five steals. Gonzalez has become a key player for Manzano: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least three steals, but 4-18 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Kai Youngberg, who en route to 18 points.

La Cueva has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.0 points over those games. Manzano has been struggling recently as they've lost 11 of their last 12 matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-19 record this season.

La Cueva does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Manzano, they will square off against Santa Fe at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Santa Fe's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last eight games.