Sandia vs La Cueva Preview!

<p>The Sandia Matadors will host the La Cueva Bears Friday, February 11th at 7:00 pm. </p> <p>The La Cueva Bears are currently 17-3 this season and 5-1 in district play. The Sandia Matadors are 14-7 this season and are currently in first place of 5A-District 2 with a 6-1 record in district play.</p> <p>In the first meeting between these two district rivals, the La Cueva Bears defeated the Sandia Matadors 59-52 at home Wednesday January 26th. The La Cueva Bears were led by star Guard [player_tooltip player_id="1076700" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"] who scored 22 points in La Cueva’s victory. Big man [player_tooltip player_id="1300481" first="Gabe" last="Trujillo"] also scored 21 points as the team’s second leading scorer that night. </p> <p>The La Cueva Bears come into this game ranked 3rd in the 5A rankings according to MaxPreps. They are coming in hot by winning 9 of the last 10 games. This team is 5-1 in district play and their only district loss came against West Mesa 50-47 on the road Saturday February 5th. The Sandia Matadors come into this game ranked 9th in the 5A rankings according to MaxPreps. They are also coming into this game winning four games in a row and 10 of their last 11 games. They have the best record in 5A-District 2 at 6-1 and there only loss has come against the La Cueva Bears on the road where they lost 59-52 Wednesday January 26th. </p> <p>The La Cueva Bears are led by Head Coach Brian Joyce who is in his second season as the Head Coach for this team. The Sandia Matadors are led by Head Coach Danny Brown who is in his third season as the Head Coach for this team.</p> <p>For the La Cueva Bears their top three leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id="1076700" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"], [player_tooltip player_id="1300481" first="Gabe" last="Trujillo"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1076705" first="Cedarius" last="Yates"]. [player_tooltip player_id="1076700" first="Exodus" last="Ayers"] is averaging 16.9 points per game this season, [player_tooltip player_id="1300481" first="Gabe" last="Trujillo"] is averaging 11.0 points per game this season. For the Sandia Matadors, their top three leading scorers are [player_tooltip player_id="1076668" first="Sean" last="Johnson"], [player_tooltip player_id="1076706" first="Ely" last="Lovato"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1360191" first="Andrew" last="Hill"]. [player_tooltip player_id="1076668" first="Sean" last="Johnson"] is averaging 20.0 points per game; [player_tooltip player_id="1076706" first="Ely" last="Lovato"] is averaging 14.4 points per game and [player_tooltip player_id="1360191" first="Andrew" last="Hill"] is averaging 11.8 points per games this season. </p> <p>Some other players to watch for the La Cueva Bears is big man [player_tooltip player_id="1230778" first="Daniel" last="Jacobsen"] who will play a big role in the paint on both sides of the floor with his size. [player_tooltip player_id="1076711" first="Isaiah" last="Denetclaw"] with his shooting and spacing of the floor and Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id="1208049" first="Josiah" last="Guliford"] with his scoring/shooting. Some other players to watch for the Sandia Matadors is [player_tooltip player_id="1076710" first="Dalen" last="Moyer"] who is a nice ball handler and underrated scorer. Daniel Brown is a nice defensive guard, shooter and ball handler for the Matadors. </p> <p>This game has strong state tournament implications on seeding and can determine who is most likely going to win district and the district tournament. </p>