The El Dorado Aztecs will face off against the Del Valle Conquistadores at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
El Dorado is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Hanks by a score of 66-53 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Aztecs.
Jacob Villalobos
| 11/22/24 vs Montwood | 34 |
| 01/07/25 vs Hanks | 24 |
| 12/13/24 @ El Paso | 21 |
| 12/05/24 vs Frenship | 16 |
| 12/17/24 @ Bel Air | 15 |
El Dorado found their leader in sophomore Jacob Villalobos, who went 6 for 9 on his way to 24 points. That's the most points Villalobos has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Quintez Floyd, who posted nine points and eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Del Valle posted their closest victory since December 6, 2024 on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Hanks, sneaking past 64-61.
Del Valle's win came from a few key players El Dorado will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Josiah Nunez, who earned ten points and eight rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Byan Mei, who had 12 points in addition to seven boards and four steals.
Del Valle smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive matches.
El Dorado is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.1 points per game. As for Del Valle, their win bumped their record up to 14-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: El Dorado has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23 boards per game. However, it's not like Del Valle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
El Dorado couldn't quite finish off Del Valle in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 and fell 51-48. Can El Dorado avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
