Manzano had lost three straight on the road, but on Wednesday they dropped down to 7-13 to make it four. They had to suffer through an 80-41 loss at the hands of the La Cueva Bears. While losing is never fun, the Monarchs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while the Bears are ranked fifth).
Bryce Johnson
| 02/04/26 @ La Cueva | 50% |
| 01/29/26 @ Capital | 43% |
| 01/27/26 @ Sandia | 63% |
| 01/26/26 vs Menaul | 44% |
Manzano lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Bryce Johnson, who posted nine points. He is also on a roll when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 43% in the last four games he's played. Landon DeHerrera also deserves some recognition as he posted his first assists of the season.
As for La Cueva, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. Their offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead La Cueva to victory, but perhaps none more so than Hunter Butler, who went 6-for-10 on his way to 16 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals. Those three steals gave Butler a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kobe Cooper, who made all 5 shots he took for 16 points.
We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Manzano is set to square off against their familiar foe Eldorado at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, La Cueva will challenge rival Sandia at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
