Basketball Game Preview: Sandia Matadors vs. Eldorado Golden Eagles

Sandia is 9-1 against Eldorado since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Sandia Matadors will venture away from home to face off against the Eldorado Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Sandia knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 19 matchups -- so hopefully Eldorado likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, Sandia was fully in charge, breezing past Manzano 70-34. Given the Matadors' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Monarchs are ranked 69th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sandia's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Zaire Ndyabagye led the charge by going 6 of 13 on his way to 16 points and five steals. That's the most steals Ndyabagye has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Brown, who went 6 for 12 en route to 17 points and four steals.

Sandia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Eldorado was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 68-63 to Santa Fe. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Thursday (55), the Golden Eagles still had to take the loss.

Sandia is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.3 points per game. As for Eldorado, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-11 record this season.

Sandia came up short against Eldorado in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 69-60. Can Sandia avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.