Basketball Game Preview: Cottonwood Colts vs. Skyline Eagles

Cottonwood and Skyline are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2016, but not for long. Having just played yesterday, the Cottonwood Colts will jump right back in to play the Skyline Eagles at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Cottonwood knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine matchups -- so hopefully Skyline likes a good challenge.

If Cottonwood beats Skyline with 56 points on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. Cottonwood walked away with a 56-45 victory over American Leadership Academy on Friday.

Cottonwood got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Malei Atem out in front who went 6 of 8 on his way to 15 points and five rebounds. Those 15 points gave Atem a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Tengis Bayasgalan, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 15 points.

Cottonwood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 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, Skyline hadn't done well against Mountain View recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Skyline came out on top against Mountain View by a score of 60-50.

Skyline's win came from a few key players Cottonwood will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Andrew Lindquist, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Wilson, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 17 points.

Skyline now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Cottonwood, their record now sits at 9-3.

Cottonwood couldn't quite finish off Skyline in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 and fell 65-62. Can Cottonwood avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.