Basketball Game Preview: Murrieta Mesa Rams vs. Temecula Valley Golden Bears

The Murrieta Mesa Rams will head out to square off against the Temecula Valley Golden Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Murrieta Mesa will bounce into Tuesday's match after beating Murrieta Valley, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Murrieta Mesa came out on top against Murrieta Valley by a score of 64-57 on Friday. The win was all the more spectacular given the Rams' disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 621st, while the Nighthawks are ranked 157th).

Ray Riley was nothing short of spectacular: he went 7 for 13 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Merritt, who posted five points in addition to 15 blocks and six boards.

Murrieta Mesa was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Temecula Valley suffered their biggest defeat since December 19, 2024 on Saturday. They came up short against Crean Lutheran, falling 79-59.

Murrieta Mesa's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-12. As for Temecula Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 11-9.

Murrieta Mesa ended up a good deal behind Temecula Valley in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, losing 75-57. Can Murrieta Mesa avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.