Basketball Game Preview: Zapata Hawks vs. Economedes Jaguars

The Zapata Hawks and the Economedes Jaguars will round out the year against one another at at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The timing isn't great for Zapata: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while Economedes has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.

Last Tuesday, it was close, but Zapata sidestepped George West for a 50-48 win.

Meanwhile, Economedes came up short against Hanna on Friday and fell 58-48. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 867th, while the Golden Eagles are ranked 407th).

Zapata will need focus on slowing down Juan Ramirez, one of several Economedes players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 13 points. Those 13 points gave Ramirez a new career-high. Aniel Solis was another key player, putting up seven points along with seven rebounds and four blocks.

Zapata is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-8 record this season. As for Economedes, their loss dropped their record down to 12-9.

Zapata lost to Economedes at home by a decisive 38-21 margin in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Economedes' Nathaniel De La Garza, who went 6 of 10 on his way to 19 points and three steals. Now that Zapata knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.