Two dominant players in Jamin Booker and Isaac Sdobnev are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Buena Colts will head out on the road to square off against the Cienega Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Buena posted their biggest win since December 28, 2023 on Monday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 83-53 win over Desert View. Given Buena's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 69th, while Desert View is ranked 278th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Julian Duran, who went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points and 2 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Deangelo Hawthorne, who scored eight points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Cienega entered their tilt with Nogales with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Cienega blew past Nogales 73-46 on the road. Cienega pushed the score to 63-30 by the end of the third, a deficit Nogales cut but never quite recovered from.
Cienega's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Evan Golembieski, who scored 14 points along with four steals. Golembieski hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Jaden Rodgers, who scored 12 points along with five steals.
Buena has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-7 record this season. As for Cienega, they pushed their record up to 15-7 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Buena hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 63 points per game. However, it's not like Cienega struggles in that department as they've been averaging 68.4 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Buena came up short against Cienega in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 64-53. Thankfully for Buena, Mason Tippett (who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
