ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The UNM basketball team is set to host NMSU on Saturday. The rivalry has had some heated moments over the years, and even with a new coaching staff and players in Las Cruces, the Lobos still know the importance of the matchup.

“I just think this is going to be a high level of competitiveness and energy on the floor with us and I know with their team and coaching staff,” Jamal Mashburn Jr said. “I would just expect a high level of competition.”

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Meanwhile, the high school basketball season tips off next week. The Highland Hornets are the defending champion of class 5A, however with the loss of multiple key players, the team still feels like they have something to prove.

“This team has worked really hard and they have had a chip on their shoulder ever since we started at the end of May because they see social media and they listen, and people think maybe we wont be very good without Jose,” coach Woody said. “You know, you cant replace 40 points and 20 rebounds, but you can do it with 5 people picking up the slack collectively.”

In other news, the defending champion of class 4A football is back in the semi final game. Lovington is set to face Silver with a trip to the title game on the line, but its a revenge game for the Colts who were knocked out of last year’s playoffs by the Wildcats.

“You know when the season was over with, I knew what they had coming back,” coach Gonzales said. “So I knew they were going to be a team that was going to contend for a championship this year. So when you get into these matchups, championship type environments, schemes kind of take care of itself and it comes down to effort.”