Basketball Recap: Rio Rancho Comes Up Short in High-Profile Match with Farmington

On Thursday, Rio Rancho faced Farmington in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Rio Rancho Rams took a 67-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Farmington Scorpions. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Scorpions this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 63-59 back in January.

Noah Lovato

Field Goal Percentage

02/06/25 @ Farmington	67%
02/04/25 @ Cleveland	46%
01/30/25 @ Piedra Vista	70%
01/28/25 @ Cibola	67%
01/24/25 @ Volcano Vista	67%

Despite the loss, Rio Rancho had strong showings from Kevin Archuleta, who went 6 of 11 to rack up 12 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Noah Lovato, who posted nine points. Lovato is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last five games he's played. Cayden Richardson was another key player, putting up seven points.

Farmington's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Isaac Dinning, who went 5 for 7 en route to 12 points and five steals. The dominant performance gave Dinning a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Begay, who went 6 of 15 on his way to 17 points and three steals.

Rio Rancho has traveled a rocky road recently having lost seven of their last eight matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 12-10 record this season. As for Farmington, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-7.

Looking ahead, Rio Rancho will square off against Volcano Vista at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Volcano Vista knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 22 contests -- so hopefully Rio Rancho likes a good challenge. As for Farmington, they will take on Cleveland at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Farmington's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last three games.