Basketball Game Preview: Randolph Ro-Hawks vs. Columbus Cardinals

The Randolph Ro-Hawks will take on the Columbus Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Randolph is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Hondo with a sharp 70-47 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Ro-Hawks have posted since January 7th.

Meanwhile, Columbus entered their tilt with Goliad on Tuesday with nine consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with ten. They walked away with a 72-63 win over the Tigers. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 505th, while the Tigers are ranked 1154th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Randolph better keep an eye on Grayson Rigdon. He was instrumental in Columbus' win, dropping a double-double with 50 points and 13 boards. That makes it five consecutive games in which Rigdon has scored at least a third of Columbus' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Tribe, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.

Columbus smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive matches.

Randolph's record is now 22-7. As for Columbus, their record is now 13-2.

Randolph couldn't quite finish off Columbus when the teams last played back in February of 2023 and fell 57-55. Can Randolph avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.