Basketball Game Preview: Rudder Rangers vs. Orangefield Bobcats

The Rudder Rangers and the Orangefield Bobcats will face off at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Rudder saw some tournament action on Friday. They blew past Rockdale 67-46. Given the Rangers' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 479th, while the Tigers are ranked 1260th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Rudder's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Randon Cooks led the charge by going 6 for 15 on his way to 18 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals. Cooks is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayden Holmes, who posted ten points and seven steals.

Meanwhile, Orangefield waltzed into their match on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They walked away with a 73-64 victory over the Gators.

Rudder better keep an eye on Jaden Scales. He was instrumental in Orangefield's win, going 12 of 18 on his way to 34 points and five assists. Those 34 points gave Scales a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Rogers, who put up ten points and six rebounds.

Orangefield is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.2 points per game. As for Rudder, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-6.