Basketball Game Preview: Bella Vista Broncos vs. Rio Americano Raiders

Bella Vista hasn't had much luck against Rio Americano recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Bella Vista Broncos will welcome the Rio Americano Raiders at 7:30 p.m. Bella Vista has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Bella Vista is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Ponderosa by a score of 79-68 on Wednesday.

It was another big night for Mark Otrotsyuk, who went 7 of 15 en route to 23 points in addition to eight rebounds and six steals. Those six steals gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cael Bird, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards.

Bella Vista was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Rio Americano came up short against Woodcreek on Wednesday and fell 58-47.

Rio Americano has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 15-9 record this season. As for Bella Vista, their win bumped their record up to 9-14.

Bella Vista suffered a grim 80-56 defeat to Rio Americano when the teams last played on January 9th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rio Americano's Nathan Batta, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 14 points along with six assists and three steals. Now that Bella Vista knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.