Basketball Game Preview: Mt. Rainier Rams vs. Auburn Trojans

Mt. Rainier hasn't had much luck against Auburn recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Mt. Rainier Rams will challenge the Auburn Trojans at 8:00 p.m. Mt. Rainier is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.4 points per game this season.

Last Tuesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Mt. Rainier beat Kentridge 48-43.

Mt. Rainier's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mason Emil led the charge by putting up 14 points and four blocks. Those four blocks gave Emil a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Dolce, who went 5 for 10 en route to 13 points.

Meanwhile, Auburn entered their tilt with Kentwood on Tuesday with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They took down the Conquerors 75-57. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Conquerors are ranked 30th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Auburn pushed their record up to 14-1 with the win, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.7 points per game. As for Mt. Rainier, their victory bumped their record up to 9-5.

Mt. Rainier suffered a grim 81-57 defeat to Auburn when the teams last played back in December of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Mt. Rainier was down 38-15.