Basketball Game Preview: Lakewood Tigers vs. Ralston Valley Mustangs

Lakewood is 2-8 against Ralston Valley since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Lakewood Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Ralston Valley Mustangs at 7:30 p.m.

Lakewood is headed into Friday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 14th straight game dating back to last season on Wednesday. They took a blow against Valor Christian, falling 81-32. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 266th, while the Eagles are ranked eighth).

Meanwhile, Ralston Valley put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 69-33 win over Columbine. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Ralston Valley's win came from a few key players Lakewood will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Caiden Braketa, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 14 points in addition to six assists and six boards. Zeke Andrews was another key player, putting up eight points along with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Ralston Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Ralston Valley's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-0. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-13.

Lakewood lost to Ralston Valley on the road by a decisive 63-47 margin when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Lakewood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.