Basketball Game Preview: Big Bear Bears vs. Academy for Academic Excellence Knights

Big Bear is 10-0 against Academy for Academic Excellence since January of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Big Bear Bears will head out on the road to square off against the Academy for Academic Excellence Knights at 7:00 p.m. Big Bear knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six contests -- so hopefully Academy for Academic Excellence likes a good challenge.

Last Friday, Big Bear rang in the new year with a 66-55 win over San Gorgonio.

Savion Sorapuru had an outrageously good game as he dropped a double-double on 26 points and 13 boards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Aiden Brewer, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.

Big Bear smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 17 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Academy for Academic Excellence). They blew past Norton Science & Language Academy 65-28 on Tuesday. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 27 points or more this season.

Big Bear pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.0 points per game. As for Academy for Academic Excellence, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

Big Bear was able to grind out a solid win over Academy for Academic Excellence in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, winning 72-61. The rematch might be a little tougher for Big Bear since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.