Preview: King Wolves vs. Rancho Verde Mustangs
King has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The King Wolves and the Rancho Verde Mustangs will face off at 6:00 p.m. on January 15th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard on Monday.
On Saturday, King came up short against Arlington and fell 69-58.
King's defeat came about despite a quality game from Mathias Tinker, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tinker is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Davis, who scored 18 points.
Meanwhile, Rancho Verde strolled past Temecula Valley with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 63-46. Given Rancho Verde's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 32nd, while Temecula Valley is ranked 231st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
King has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-14 record this season. As for Rancho Verde, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season.
King ended up a good deal behind Rancho Verde when the teams last played back in December of 2017, losing 58-44. Can King avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
