Basketball Game Preview: Rodriguez Mustangs vs. Pioneer Patriots

The Rodriguez Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Pioneer Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Rodriguez's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four contests.

On Wednesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Rodriguez beat River City 77-71. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 209th, while the Raiders are ranked 830th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Pioneer played a tough match on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Vanden, falling 74-37. The Patriots were down 58-33 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

Rodriguez will have to keep a close watch on Melvir Pooni and Denzel Roberts, a pair of players who had a big impact on Pioneer's prior game. Pooni posted ten points, while Roberts scored four points and six rebounds. The dominant performance gave Roberts a new career-high in rebounds.

Rodriguez pushed their record up to 12-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of three points across that stretch. As for Pioneer, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-11 record this season.