The Mercedes Tigers will take on the La Joya Coyotes in a tournament on Thursday.
Mercedes is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against King last Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Mercedes took a blow against King, falling 71-38.
La Joya hasn't had quite the year their fans were hoping for to this point, but back-to-back wins may be a sign of good things to come. They snuck past Los Fresnos with a 64-60 victory on Tuesday.
La Joya's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Aydin Wilder-Bey led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Anthony Romero, who went 6 for 10 en route to 15 points plus five rebounds.
La Joya smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.
La Joya is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 3-10 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.5 points per game. As for Mercedes, their loss dropped their record down to 5-7.
Mercedes didn't have too much breathing room in their game against La Joya when the teams last played back in December of 2022, but they still walked away with a 50-44 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was La Joya's Ethan Moya, who earned 20 points plus two steals. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Mercedes to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
