Basketball Game Preview: Crystal City Javelinas vs. Natalia Mustangs

Crystal City has gone 6-1 against Natalia recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Crystal City Javelinas will head out to challenge the Natalia Mustangs at 7:15 p.m. Crystal City knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 12 contests -- so hopefully Natalia likes a good challenge.

Crystal City is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They really took it to Cotulla for the full four quarters, racking up a 99-45 win. The Javelinas have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 21 points or more this season.

Crystal City can attribute much of their success to Christopher Mena, who dropped a double-double on 36 points and 15 boards, and Jayden Rousseau, who dropped a triple-double on 28 points, 12 rebounds, and ten steals. The matchup was Mena's 12th in a row with at least ten points. Jordan Urrabazo was another key player, going 6 for 12 on his way to 16 points and three steals.

Crystal City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Meanwhile, Natalia came up short against Hondo on Tuesday and fell 67-56. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Crystal City is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 75.5 points per game. As for Natalia, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-18.

Everything went Crystal City's way against Natalia in their previous meeting back in January, as Crystal City made off with an 83-58 victory. In that game, Crystal City amassed a halftime lead of 39-13, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.