Basketball Game Preview: Ralston Valley Mustangs vs. Arvada West Wildcats

Ralston Valley has gone a perfect 10-0 against Arvada West recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Ralston Valley Mustangs will head out on the road to challenge the Arvada West Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Ralston Valley knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 22 games -- so hopefully Arvada West likes a good challenge.

Ralston Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Mountain Vista, who was ranked eighth at the time (Ralston Valley was ranked fourth). Ralston Valley took a 67-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mountain Vista on Tuesday. The Mustangs have struggled against the Golden Eagles recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Caiden Braketa

Three Point Percentage

02/18/25 @ Mountain Vista	56%
02/13/25 vs Columbine	40%
02/11/25 @ Valor Christian	64%
02/08/25 @ Chatfield	43%
02/06/25 @ Lakewood	60%
+ 6 more games

Ralston Valley's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Tanner Braketa, who went 8-for-18 on his way to 19 points and five assists, and Caiden Braketa, who went 7-for-15 en route to 21 points. Caiden is also on a roll when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 40% in the last 11 games he's played. Winston Patterson was another key player, putting up six rebounds and three blocks.

Meanwhile, Arvada West came tearing into Wednesday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 42.7 points), and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 72-47 margin over the Chargers. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 13 contests by 21 points or more this season.

Ralston Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 20-2. As for Arvada West, they pushed their record up to 17-5 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.

Ralston Valley skirted past Arvada West 64-62 when the teams last played on February 1st. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ralston Valley since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.