The O'Connor Panthers and the Sotomayor WILDCATS will compete for holiday cheer at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. O'Connor has given up an average of 53.9 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
O'Connor is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Boerne 85-58 on Saturday. With that victory, the Panthers brought their scoring average up to 50.6 points per game.
Hagen Hurst
| 12/13/25 vs Boerne | 27 |
| 12/09/25 @ Warren | 15 |
| 12/06/25 vs Judson | 17 |
| 12/06/25 vs Johnson | 33 |
| 12/05/25 vs Bishop Lynch | 23 |
| + 5 more games |
O'Connor had a senior duo take command as Hagen Hurst dropped a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Ethan Bilyeu went 9-for-16 to rack up 24 points and seven boards. Hurst's afternoon made it ten games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Daniel Ikwuagwu was another key player, putting up nine points.
O'Connor was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February.
Meanwhile, Sotomayor came up short against Veterans Memorial on Saturday and fell 61-50. While losing is never fun, the WILDCATS can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 395th, while the Patriots are ranked 109th).
O'Connor will have to keep a close watch on Olubunmi Odewole and Gabriel Hernandez, a pair of players who had a big impact on Sotomayor's prior game. Odewole posted 17 points and six boards, while Hernandez put up 14 points. Another player making a difference was Khylin Jackson, who earned six points.
O'Connor has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points over those games. As for Sotomayor, they now have a losing record of 8-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: O'Connor has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Sotomayor struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
O'Connor skirted past Sotomayor 56-54 in their previous meeting back in January. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the WILDCATS turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
