The Jal Panthers will be playing at home against the Wink Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Jal beat Dexter 54-49. That's two games straight that Jal has won by exactly five points.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Jal to victory, but perhaps none more so than A3 Rodriguez, who scored 23 points along with four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Rodriguez has scored all season. Gabriel Juarez was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Wink proved they can win big last Friday (they won by 52) but last Saturday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Loving 57-54. The victory was all the more spectacular given Wink's disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 976th in Texas, while Loving is ranked 68th in New Mexico).
The victory makes it two in a row for Jal and bumps their season record up to 5-6. As for Wink, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-7 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Jal against Wink when the teams last played back in December of 2023 as the team secured a 73-44 win. Will Jal repeat their success, or does Wink have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
