The El Capitan Gauchos will head out on the road to face off against the Merced Bears at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: El Capitan has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Merced will arrive with three straight victories.
Last Wednesday, El Capitan came up short against Gregori and fell 69-61. While losing is never fun, the Gauchos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 449th, while the Jaguars are ranked 95th).
| 01/08/25 vs Gregori | 9 |
| 02/02/24 vs Patterson | 7 |
| 12/21/24 vs Mid-Pacific Institute | 7 |
| 01/26/24 @ Buhach Colony | 7 |
| 12/06/24 vs Rodriguez | 6 |
The losing side was boosted by Diego Ultreras, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. Those nine boards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ian Vasquez Gomez, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 9 points.
Meanwhile, Merced didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Enochs on Friday, but they still walked away with a 49-45 win.
Merced's win came from a few key players El Capitan will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jordan Thomas, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 12 points along with six rebounds and three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Diego Aguilar, who posted 13 points.
Merced smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive contests.
Merced has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 11-7 record this season. As for El Capitan, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-7.
El Capitan didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Merced in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 62-58 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for El Capitan since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
