The Bella Vista Broncos will challenge the Rio Americano Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Bella Vista turned things around against Ponderosa on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Bruins with a sharp 62-42 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Broncos have posted since November 26, 2024.
| 01/07/25 vs Ponderosa | 2 |
| 12/14/24 vs Ponderosa | 1 |
| 12/10/24 vs Oakmont | 1 |
| 12/03/24 @ Del Oro | 1 |
| 12/23/23 vs Union Mine | 1 |
Bella Vista had a senior duo take command as Mark Otrotsyuk went 6 of 14 en route to 19 points and five steals and Maxwell Prucher went 7 of 15 on his way to 21 points. The dominant performance also gave Prucher a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Jonah Wooden, who posted ten points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Rio Americano had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They pulled ahead with a 55-54 photo finish over the Timberwolves. The win was all the more spectacular given the Raiders' disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while the Timberwolves are ranked 33rd).
Rio Americano's win came from a few key players Bella Vista will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ian Engh, who put up 16 points. The matchup was his third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Adrian Devenecia, who had seven points in addition to six rebounds and three steals.
Bella Vista's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-9. As for Rio Americano, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.
Bella Vista was taken down by Rio Americano 70-38 when the teams last played back in November of 2019. Thankfully for Bella Vista, Mitchell Dixon (who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
