After a string of five wins, the Crystal City Javelinas's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell to Natalia 78-73. Crystal City was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Mustangs apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in February of 2023.
When it comes to explaining why Crystal City lost, one person who can't be blamed is Abran Palomo. Despite the final result, he went 7 for 13 from beyond the arc en route to 29 points and 2 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Palomo has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Mata, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Crystal City's defeat dropped their record down to 17-12. As for Natalia, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-9 record this season.
Crystal City will be playing in front of their home fans against the Owls at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hondo will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Texas Rankings (they are ranked 1373rd, while the Javelinas are ranked 686th). As for Natalia, they will head out on the road to challenge the Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
