The Estancia Bears are taking a road trip to face off against the Raton Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Estancia has now lost 14 straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since January 10.
Last Thursday, Estancia was beaten by Santa Rosa 89-52. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 128th, while the Lions are ranked 26th).
The losing side was boosted by Justin Rubio, who went 6-for-15 to rack up 18 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals. Marcos Lucero was another key player, putting up nine points.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Raton took on Santa Rosa on Saturday. Raton took a 62-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of Santa Rosa. The Tigers haven't had much luck with the Lions recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
Estancia will have to contain Chase Walton as he made an impact in Raton's last game. He went 6-for-7 on his way to 12 points along with seven boards and seven blocks. Walton has been hot for a while, having posted two or more blocks the last 13 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Tyler Petrini, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Even though they lost, Raton 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 24 consecutive contests.
Estancia's record now sits at 5-21. As for Raton, their record now sits at 13-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Estancia has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Raton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Estancia ended up a good deal behind Raton in their previous matchup on February 8th, losing 63-48. Can Estancia avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
