Rio Rancho falls despite strong effort from Jayden Johnson

By Team Reports Jan 13, 2024, 5:07pm

Recap: Rio Rancho Rams vs. Sandia Matadors

The Rio Rancho Rams pushed their score all the way to 62 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 72-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of Sandia. If Rio Rancho hoped to take revenge for the 66-61 defeat against they when the teams met, then they were left disappointed.

Despite the loss, Rio Rancho still got an impressive performance from Jayden Johnson, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds and six steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Johnson has scored all season. Kevin Archuleta was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with two steals.

Thomas Adams continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Sandia, scoring 19 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Adams continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jahmil Crayton Johnson, who scored 15 points along with two steals.

Rio Rancho has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-6 record this season. As for Sandia, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 7-4.

Rio Rancho's road trip will continue as they head out to face Del Norte at 5:30 p.m. on January 10th. Hopefully Del Norte focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Tuesday. Sandia won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Eldorado at 7:15 p.m. on January 10th. Eldorado has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 397 points over their last six matches.