Cortez is 0-5 against Marcos de Niza since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Cortez Colts will be playing in front of their home fans against the Marcos de Niza Padres at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Cortez humbled Washington with a 80-42 victory.
Cortez can attribute much of their success to Ulysses Espinoza, who scored 19 points along with 3 steals, and Devan Fowler, who scored 19 points along with 5 assists. The contest was Fowler's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Musa Watts, who scored 10 points.
Meanwhile, Marcos de Niza's game on Saturday was all tied up 29-29 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Mohave 47-45.
Marcos de Niza's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from James Steward, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Steward has scored at least 25% of Marcos de Niza's points. Dj Drew was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with 3 steals.
Cortez now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Marcos de Niza, the victory also got them back to even at 4-4.
Cortez came up short against Marcos de Niza when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 72-59. Thankfully for Cortez, Rayvell Suggs (who scored 31 points along with 6 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
