Basketball Game Preview: Rancho Cotate Cougars vs. Vintage Crushers

The Rancho Cotate Cougars will face off against the Vintage Crushers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Rancho Cotate knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six matchups -- so hopefully Vintage likes a good challenge.

Last Thursday, Rancho Cotate didn't have too much trouble with Healdsburg as they won 68-50. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 252nd, while the Greyhounds are ranked 951st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Adam Pengel was his usual excellent self, going 9 for 15 en route to 23 points and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Decimus Shaw, who posted 12 points.

Rancho Cotate was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Healdsburg only posted four assists.

Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Vintage's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They took a 59-43 bruising from Justin-Siena.

Vintage's loss dropped their record down to 8-14. As for Rancho Cotate, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-3 record this season.

Rancho Cotate came up short against Vintage in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 54-50. Thankfully for Rancho Cotate, Miles Macpherson (who earned 14 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.