Basketball Game Preview: Santa Ana Saints vs. Buena Park Coyotes

The Santa Ana Saints will take on the Buena Park Coyotes at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Buena Park took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Santa Ana, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with nine losses in a row, Santa Ana turned things around against Westminster on Wednesday. They walked away with a 59-52 win over the Lions.

Santa Ana's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Pedro Moran, who posted 18 points. The dominant performance gave Moran a new career-high in points. Issac Alvarez was another key player, putting up 15 points.

Meanwhile, Buena Park ended up a good deal behind Marquez on Wednesday and lost 69-50.

Santa Ana will have to keep a close watch on Ernesto Portas and Zyaire Eastland, a pair of players who had a big impact on Buena Park's prior game. Portas almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine boards, while Eastland scored 17 points along with five assists and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Liam Gallego, who had four points in addition to five assists and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Buena Park was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Buena Park has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-17 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.2 points per game. As for Santa Ana, their victory ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-15.

Santa Ana beat Buena Park 69-59 in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Does Santa Ana have another victory up their sleeve, or will Buena Park turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.