Basketball Game Preview: Warren Bears vs. Artesia Pioneers

Two dominant guards in King Johnson and CJ Okeke are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Warren Bears will face off against the Artesia Pioneers at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Warren is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Firebaugh 85-34. The Bears have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Warren to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jay'Mari Redmond, who went 7 of 13 on his way to 17 points along with five boards and five steals. The dominant performance gave Redmond a new career-high in steals. Johnson was another key player, going 6 for 8 en route to 16 points.

Warren smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Artesia came tearing into Saturday's game with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.9 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 57-45 victory over the Heralds.

Artesia has also been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.6 points per game. As for Warren, the win got them back to even at 10-10.

Warren came up short against Artesia in their previous matchup back in May of 2021, falling 61-55. Can Warren avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.