Basketball Recap: Rio Rancho Falls Short of Sandia in the Playoffs

By Team Reports Mar 10, 2025, 6:21am

Basketball Recap: Rio Rancho Rams vs. Sandia Matadors

Rio Rancho and Sandia squared off in some playoff action on Saturday, but Rio Rancho had to settle for second. They took a 71-53 bruising from the Sandia Matadors. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Rams of the 72-62 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in January of 2024.

Dashon Bynum

Points

03/08/25 vs Sandia16
02/25/25 @ Farmington10
02/21/25 vs Cleveland6
02/19/25 vs Piedra Vista4
02/14/25 vs Cibola4
+ 9 more games

Despite the loss, Rio Rancho had strong showings from Kevin Archuleta, who shot 50% from the field en route to 15 points and five boards, and Dashon Bynum, who went 5-for-10 on his way to 16 points and six rebounds. Bynum continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jordan McNeely, who posted eight points.

It was another big night for Zaire Ndyabagye, who went 10-for-12 to rack up 24 points in addition to eight boards and five assists for Sandia. Ndyabagye is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games he's played. Isaiah Brown was another key player, putting up 16 points and three steals.

This is the second loss in a row for Rio Rancho and nudges their season record down to 15-13. As for Sandia, the victory was the tenth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 25-3.

Rio Rancho does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Sandia, they will take on Albuquerque at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Sandia is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 76.3 points per game this season.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps

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