If the Ruidoso Warriors were riding high off their 68-43 takedown of the Mescalero Apache Chiefs last Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Ruidoso took a hard 76-60 fall against Lovington on Friday. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Ruidoso in their matchups with Lovington: they've now lost three in a row.
Patrick Kimbrell and Logan Sandoval certainly did their best on Friday to try and avoid the loss. Kimbrell dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Sandoval scored 19 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Sandoval is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Augustine Saiz, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds.
Lovington was led to victory by Julian Arroyo and Zadrick Betancourt. Arroyo scored 21 points along with four steals, while Betancourt scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Betancourt has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Demarcus Thompson jr was another key contributor, scoring four points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Ruidoso's loss dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Lovington, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.
Ruidoso won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Melrose at 2:30 p.m. on January 20th. Melrose is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games. As for Lovington, they will head out on the road to face off against Carlsbad at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in New Mexico (Carlsbad is ranked 35th, while Lovington is ranked 46th).
