Even though the Highland Hornets have not done well against the Sandia Matadors recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Highland sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 78-75 victory over Sandia. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Jesus Licon was a one-man wrecking crew for Highland as he scored 41 points along with 7 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Raul Stanford, who scored 14 points along with 8 assists and 8 rebounds.
Sandia's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Isaiah Brown, who scored 21 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Zaire Ndyabagye was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Highland's victory bumped their record up to 1-0. As for Sandia, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Highland will challenge Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Saturday. Sandia won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Volcano Vista at 7:00 p.m. on December 2nd.
