The Granada Bobcats and the McClave Cardinals will face off at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Granada sitting on four straight victories and McClave on three.
Granada will bounce into Saturday's matchup after beating Holly, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Granada managed a 44-38 win over Holly on Friday. While the Bobcats didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
| 12/20/24 vs Holly | 21 |
| 12/19/24 vs Wiley | 18 |
| 12/14/24 vs Manzanola | 17 |
| 12/12/24 @ Hi-Plains | 19 |
| 12/06/24 vs Rye | 31 |
It was another big night for Maddox Coleman, who went 8 of 15 on his way to 21 points and seven rebounds. His evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sebastian Pizarro, who posted eight points.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when McClave took on Kit Carson on Friday. McClave blew past Kit Carson 66-17. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 28 points or more this season.
McClave found their leader in sophomore Tuff Kelley, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Kelley has scored all season. Drew Howe was another key player, putting up eight points and three steals.
McClave smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in five consecutive games.
McClave's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Granada, their win bumped their record up to an identical 4-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Granada has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like McClave struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Granada came up short against McClave when the teams last played back in February, falling 47-39. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kelley, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 15 boards. Now that Granada knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
