Basketball Game Preview: Round Valley Mustangs vs. Mendocino Cardinals

The Round Valley Mustangs will take on the Mendocino Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

If Round Valley beats Mendocino with 57 points on Tuesday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. Round Valley took down Laytonville 57-40 on Friday. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 475th, while the Warriors are ranked 1136th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mendocino, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 30-22 win over Tomales on Friday.

Round Valley's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points per game. As for Mendocino, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Round Valley strolled past Mendocino in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 by a score of 46-29. Does Round Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mendocino turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.