Basketball Game Preview: Royal Highlanders vs. Moorpark Musketeers

The Royal Highlanders will face off against the Moorpark Musketeers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Monday, Royal was able to grind out a solid win over Santa Clara, taking the game 64-52. Given the Highlanders' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 408th, while the Saints are ranked 1132nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ace Arnold continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 13 of 23 en route to 33 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. His evening made it seven games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Markand, who posted nine points.

Meanwhile, Moorpark was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They came up short against Simi Valley, falling 82-61.

Royal has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 10-10 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.2 points per game. As for Moorpark, their loss dropped their record down to 8-10.

Royal came up short against Moorpark in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 72-61. Thankfully for Royal, Yoni Dotan (who had 25 points and eight rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.