Manzano lost to Sandia back in February of 2025 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Monarchs were outmatched by the Matadors and fell 78-51. 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 70th, while the Matadors are ranked 11th).
Bryce Johnson
| 01/27/26 @ Sandia | 15 |
| 01/26/26 vs Menaul | 21 |
| 01/23/26 @ Valley | 18 |
Several Monarchs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Bryce Johnson, who shot 45% from the field on his way to 15 points and eight boards. The contest was Johnson's third in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Justin Duran, who posted ten points and five rebounds.
Isaiah Brown had another great game (as he tends to do), dropping a double-double with 13 points and ten steals for Sandia. Brown has become a key player for the Matadors: the team is 11-3 when he posts at least five steals, but 1-4 otherwise. Lavodrick Hogues was another key player, putting up nine points and six steals.
Manzano has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost six of their last eight games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season. As for Sandia, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-7.
We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Manzano will take on rival Capital at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Meanwhile, Sandia is set to challenge their familiar foe Eldorado at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
