Preview: Maple Valley Raiders vs. Richland Colts
The Maple Valley Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Richland Colts at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Maple Valley is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Tuesday, Maple Valley suffered a rough 64-42 loss at the hands of the Pirates. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Maple Valley in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now lost three in a row.
Meanwhile, Richland's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight defeat. Their rough 63-42 defeat to Sargent County might stick with them for a while. While losing is never fun, Richland can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 26th).
Nick Mjoness put forth a good effort for the losing side as he scored 21 points. Another player making a difference was Casyn Syvertsen, who scored 11 points along with two steals and two blocks.
Maple Valley has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season. As for Richland, their loss dropped their record down to 4-11.
Maple Valley didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against the Colts when the teams last played back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 55-49 victory. Will Maple Valley repeat their success, or do the Colts have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
