The El Capitan Gauchos will square off against the Merced Bears at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in El Capitan's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last seven matchups.
El Capitan is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Los Banos: they outscored them in every quarter. El Capitan strolled past Los Banos with points to spare on Wednesday, taking the game 68-53. Given the Gauchos' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 277th, while the Tigers are ranked 576th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Merced unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of Golden Valley by a score of 49-46. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Bears have suffered since December 18, 2024.
El Capitan's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-7. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Merced, their loss dropped their record down to 14-9.
El Capitan was able to grind out a solid win over Merced in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 56-46. Does El Capitan have another victory up their sleeve, or will Merced turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
