Wingate and Zuni are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Wingate Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Zuni Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
On Wednesday, Wingate came up short against Crownpoint and fell 42-35.
Meanwhile, Zuni was beaten by Tohatchi 73-43 on Friday. The Thunderbirds haven't had much luck with the Cougars recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.
Wingate will have to contain Ty'Shawn Nieto as he made an impact in Zuni's last game. He dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 boards. Nieto is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Terrance Smith, who posted seven points and six boards.
Even though they lost, Zuni smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 11 consecutive contests.
Wingate dropped their record down to 8-12 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Zuni, their loss dropped their record down to 11-9.
Wingate came up short against Zuni in their previous matchup back in January, falling 65-55. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Nieto, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 23 rebounds. Now that Wingate knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
