Natalia hasn't had much luck against Crystal City recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Natalia Mustangs will welcome the Crystal City Javelinas at 7:15 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Tuesday, Natalia came up short against Hondo and fell 67-56. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Crystal City). They breezed by Cotulla to the tune of 99-45 on Tuesday. The victory was familiar territory for the Javelinas who have now won nine games in a row.
Natalia better focus on containing Christopher Mena and Jayden Rousseau as the pair were huge in Crystal City's win. Mena dropped a double-double on 36 points and 15 rebounds, while Rousseau dropped a triple-double on 28 points, 12 boards, and ten steals. Mena's evening made it 12 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Jordan Urrabazo was another key player, going 6 for 12 en route to 16 points and three steals.
Crystal City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Crystal City is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 75.5 points per game. As for Natalia, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-18.
Natalia might still be hurting after the 83-58 loss they got from Crystal City in their previous matchup back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mena, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and ten rebounds. Now that Natalia knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
