Columbine and Ralston Valley are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Columbine Rebels will be playing in front of their home fans against the Ralston Valley Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Columbine has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with three straight losses, while Ralston Valley will come in with 12 straight wins.
Columbine lost 68-48 to Arapahoe on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Rebels can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 77th, while the Warriors are ranked 11th).
Despite the defeat, Columbine had strong showings from Dyson Boykin, who posted ten points, and Seth Hickman, who put up nine points. Matthew Kossik was another key player, putting up three points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Ralston Valley was able to grind out a solid victory over Valor Christian on Friday, taking the game 65-58.
Columbine better focus on containing Caiden Braketa and Tanner Braketa as the pair were huge in Ralston Valley's win. Caiden went 7 of 14 en route to 23 points and seven rebounds, while Tanner went 6 for 15 on his way to 23 points and five assists. With that strong performance, Caiden is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. Another player making a difference was Zeke Andrews, who had seven points and nine boards.
Ralston Valley's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-0. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.5 points per game. As for Columbine, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Columbine and Ralston Valley are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Columbine hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 61.8 points per game. However, it's not like Ralston Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 69.5 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Columbine suffered a grim 83-57 defeat to Ralston Valley in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Will Columbine have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
