Basketball Game Preview: Sonora Wildcats vs. Ripon Indians

The Sonora Wildcats will challenge the Ripon Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a five-game winning streak alive.

Last Friday, Sonora took their match with ease, bagging a 78-49 win over Hughson. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 21 points or more this season.

Sonora got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Luke Otterson out in front who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 18 rebounds. Those 18 boards gave Otterson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Ingalls, who went 7 of 11 en route to 14 points along with seven rebounds and six steals.

Sonora was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Ripon Christian typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Ripon proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top against the Knights by a score of 60-48.

Ripon's win came from a few key players Sonora will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Marcus Madoski, who went 8 for 14 on his way to 20 points in addition to eight boards and three blocks. The contest was his 19th in a row with at least ten points. Logan Lefebvre was another key player, going 6 of 15 en route to 15 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.

Ripon is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.4 points per game. As for Sonora, they pushed their record up to 13-6 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.

Sonora came up short against Ripon when the teams last played back in November of 2023, falling 53-43. Can Sonora avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.