Basketball Game Preview: Ralston Valley Mustangs vs. Valor Christian Eagles

Two dominant guards in Tanner Braketa and Cole Scherer are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Ralston Valley Mustangs will venture away from home to face off against the Valor Christian Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Ralston Valley comes in on 19 and Valor Christian on six.

On Saturday, everything went Ralston Valley's way against Chatfield as Ralston Valley made off with an 80-57 victory. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 20 points or more this season.

Tanner Braketa

Points (Career)

02/08/25 @ Chatfield	30
01/03/25 @ Chaparral	29
02/12/24 @ Arvada West	25
01/10/25 @ Smoky Hill	24
12/07/24 vs Mullen	24

Braketa continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 6 for 11 from beyond the arc on his way to 30 points. Those 30 points gave him a new career-high. Zeke Andrews was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds.

Ralston Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive games.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Valor Christian). They enjoyed a cozy 88-72 win over Columbine on Saturday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Rebels are ranked 71st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ralston Valley pushed their record up to 19-0 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. As for Valor Christian, their record now sits at 15-4.

Ralston Valley beat Valor Christian 65-58 in their previous meeting back in January. 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.