Basketball Game Preview: Murrieta Valley Nighthawks vs. Murrieta Mesa Rams

The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks will head out to challenge the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Murrieta Valley knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matchups -- so hopefully Murrieta Mesa likes a good challenge.

Murrieta Valley took a loss when they played away from home last Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They walked away with a 68-58 win over Great Oak. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Nighthawks as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, Murrieta Mesa suffered their closest loss since January 5, 2024 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Chaparral by a score of 56-54.

Murrieta Valley will have to keep a close watch on Andrei Aguilera and Luke Siefkin, a pair of players who had a big impact on Murrieta Mesa's prior game. Aguilera went 7 of 11 on his way to 15 points and seven rebounds, while Siefkin went 5 of 10 on his way to 13 points and six rebounds. The dominant performance gave Aguilera a new career-high in boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Ray Riley, who posted ten points and three steals.

Murrieta Mesa dropped their record down to 7-12 with the defeat, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Murrieta Valley, their win bumped their record up to 12-7.

Murrieta Valley strolled past Murrieta Mesa when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 66-52. The rematch might be a little tougher for Murrieta Valley since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.