Recap: Mt. Rainier Rams vs. Jefferson Raiders
There's no place like home for the Mt. Rainier Rams, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Saturday. They blew past Jefferson 70-50. Given Mt. Rainier's advantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while Jefferson is ranked 317th), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Zach Luz was his usual excellent self, scoring 30 points along with six rebounds and five steals. That makes it six consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Mt. Rainier's points. Another player making a difference was Owen Brown, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Jefferson's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jakob Bolli, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Josias Kpontont, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
Mt. Rainier's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.7 points per game. As for Jefferson, they are on a seven-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-14.
Mt. Rainier won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Decatur at 7:00 p.m. on January 30th. Mt. Rainier is facing Decatur at the right time seeing as Decatur is stuck on a eight-game losing streak. As for Jefferson, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Auburn Riverside at 7:00 p.m. on January 30th. Hopefully Jefferson focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Monday.
