Eisenhower's Jack Loofburrow (34) tries to keep the ball from Davis's Nico Sandoval during the second half of the teams' first meeting on Dec. 16 at Davis High School. The Pirates won, 57-48.   SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic file

With the matchup mysteries dispensed with after the first meeting of the season, it's usually the rematch that's juiciest in the annual Davis-Eisenhower boys basketball series.

Everybody's got a clearer picture.

Everybody's knows the scouting report.

The question that's left is who will respond best to the gritty elements of motivation -- the desire to avenge or the confidence to validate.

"There were a lot of things we did well in that first game and obviously we're hoping for some of that again," said Davis coach Eli Juarez, whose young team prevailed over the Cadets 57-48 last month at Davis Gym. "Our kids have a pretty good idea what they have to do."

Being on the flipside of that outcome, Eisenhower coach Pat Fitterer knows all too well what his Cadets have to do differently.

"The areas where we broke down in that game, we've worked awfully hard on those," he said. "The one good thing that came out of that, our practices were much more focused after that."

Monday's rematch -- the 7:30 p.m. centerpiece of the fourth annual Tourneytown.com Shootout -- will once again be for supremacy in the Big Nine Conference. Eisenhower sits in first at 9-1 while Davis is tied for third at 7-3.

And, as was the case a year ago, Davis will have the added challenge of coming off tough games against Southridge and Pasco over the weekend while Eisenhower enjoyed a bye on Saturday.

Nonetheless, if a team has the energy for such a demanding schedule it's Davis, which has been getting good minutes from its bench and has managed to rebound with taller teams all season.

In fact, one of the keys to the first meeting was that Davis stayed with their taller rivals rebound for rebound.

"For us, that's a challenge every week," Juarez said. "We have to apply ourselves, which we did last time. Our reaction time when the ball was in the air was extremely quick."

To Fitterer's liking, the Cadets hoisted up too many 3-pointers last time and didn't attack inside enough.

"We started off very well defensively (building a 12-5 lead) but we broke down and let them get some easy baskets," he said. "Davis jumped on their opportunities and did exactly what they had to do. They got momentum in their favor and we spent the whole second half trying to get it back."

Perhaps the best all-around effort of the first meeting came from Davis junior guard Nico Sandoval, who not only pitched in 22 points but contributed to the strong defense of Ike's Drew Harris. The night after managing a season-low four points against Davis, Harris went off for 26 at Walla Walla.

"We have to contain Drew because he does a good job slashing and getting inside," Juarez said. "But our primary concern is to defend them inside out."

Eisenhower will continue to be without junior Zach Gavin, who's recovering from foot surgery and is expected back in February.

Davis looking to stop Ike girls' run

The Shootout nightcap will feature the Eisenhower-Davis girls game, scheduled for 9 p.m.

Nobody has been within 25 points of the unbeaten Cadets, who are 10-0 in the Big Nine and 11-0 overall after a resounding 90-53 win over Kennewick last Friday.

Marianne Lombardi's season-high 28 points and 14 rebounds led Ike to a 79-37 win over Davis on Dec. 15. The Cadets have four players averaging in double figures.

The Pirates (0-10, 1-10) are winless in the Big Nine but coming off two narrow losses, 36-31 to Southridge and 41-40 to Pasco last weekend.