Manzano lost against La Cueva on February 4th, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Manzano Monarchs came up short against the La Cueva Bears, falling 70-50. While losing is never fun, the Monarchs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 66th, while the Bears are ranked eighth).
Manzano lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Estevan Gonzalez, who posted 12 points in addition to five assists and five steals. That's the most steals he has posted since back in November of 2024. Kai Youngberg was another key player, on his way to 18 points.
La Cueva was led to victory by Hunter Butler and Tre Cowles. Butler dropped a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards, while Cowles en route to 20 points and eight rebounds. Butler is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 62% in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Tony Trujillo, who scored eight points along with six assists and six boards.
Manzano has traveled a rocky road recently having lost 11 of their last 12 matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-19 record this season. The victory was the fourth in a row for La Cueva, bringing their record for this year to 17-9.
Coming up, Manzano will venture away from home to take on Santa Fe at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Santa Fe's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last eight games. La Cueva does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
