Sonora Wildcats at Merced Bears — Friday, Jan. 2 (3:30 p.m. PST) preview

Merced HS -

Sonora travels to Merced for a Friday evening league meeting at Merced High School.

• What: Sonora Wildcats at Merced Bears (junior varsity)

• When: Friday, Jan. 2, 2026 — 3:30 p.m. PST

• Where: Merced High School, Merced, Calif.

• Game page: https://scorebooklive.com/california/basketball/games/5786362-sonora-vs-merced

• Home team: Merced Bears — https://scorebooklive.com/california/basketball/teams/158021-merced-bears-jv

• Away team: Sonora Wildcats — https://scorebooklive.com/california/basketball/teams/160822-sonora-wildcats-jv

This one-off Friday tilt brings two Central Valley programs to Merced High School. There’s no last-meeting data posted for this matchup, so both teams will be looking to set the tone early in the new year. Sonora returns to its home schedule after this trip; they host Riverbank on Monday (Jan. 5) — more: https://scorebooklive.com/california/basketball/games/5827525-riverbank-vs-sonora. Merced’s next game is a week away at Enochs on Jan. 9 — more: https://scorebooklive.com/california/basketball/games/5521520-merced-vs-enochs.

Streaming and tickets

• Merced NFHS Network page (may stream games or provide ticket info — subscription may be required): https://nfhsnetwork.com/schools/merced-high-school-merced-ca/basketball?referrer_name=scorebooklive&utm_campaign=scorebooklive&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=scorebooklive

• Sonora NFHS Network page (may stream games or provide ticket info — subscription may be required): https://nfhsnetwork.com/schools/sonora-high-school-sonora-ca/basketball?referrer_name=scorebooklive&utm_campaign=scorebooklive&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=scorebooklive

Fan note and how you can help

SBLive shows current fan and pick counts for each team on their team pages. Right now both teams show 0 fans and 0 picks; those numbers can — and will — change. Follow the teams on SBLive to increase fan counts and make picks if you want to show support (picks are for fun and not tied to any projections). For full game coverage, follow the game page linked above and check team pages for live updates and streaming/ticket details.

See you at Merced or online — and don’t forget to follow and make your pick to support the team you want to see win.