Basketball Game Preview: Richards Warriors vs. Air Force Academy Falcons

The Richards Warriors will take on the Air Force Academy Falcons in a tournament on Friday. Richards will be strutting in after a win while Air Force Academy will be coming in after a loss.

Richards saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They snuck past Holy Trinity with a 39-33 victory. The win continues a trend for the Warriors in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won three in a row.

Meanwhile, Air Force Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Ogden International an easy 70-44 victory. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 733rd, while Ogden International are ranked 328th).

Despite the loss, Air Force Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Pablo Ruiz went 6-for-12 on his way to 18 points. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for Ruiz. Grant Galvin was another key player, putting up nine points and four steals.

Air Force Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 1-8. As for Richards, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.

Richards was able to grind out a solid victory over Air Force Academy in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, winning 60-52. Do the Warriors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.