Preview: STEM School Highlands Ranch Spartans vs. DSST: Green Valley Ranch Raptors
The STEM School Highlands Ranch Spartans will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against the DSST: Green Valley Ranch Raptors at 6:00 p.m. Hopefully STEM School Highlands Ranch focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Monday.
Last Monday, STEM School Highlands Ranch came up short against Alameda and fell 59-47. STEM School Highlands Ranch has struggled against Alameda recently, as their matchup on Monday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
The losing side was boosted by Avi Thakkar, who scored 16 points along with six steals. Tyler Munro was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, DSST: Green Valley Ranch had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 31.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They came out on top against Colorado Academy by a score of 66-58. The victory was all the more spectacular given DSST: Green Valley Ranch's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Colorado Academy is ranked 14th).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead DSST: Green Valley Ranch to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jovonnie Babineaux, who scored 20 points along with six assists and two steals. Babineaux is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Shalom Abioye, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds.
STEM School Highlands Ranch has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-9 record this season. As for DSST: Green Valley Ranch, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: STEM School Highlands Ranch have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31 rebounds per game. However, it's not like DSST: Green Valley Ranch struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
STEM School Highlands Ranch took a serious blow against DSST: Green Valley Ranch in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 72-17. The match was all but decided by halftime, at which point STEM School Highlands Ranch was down 72-14.
