The Mountain Vista Golden Eagles will challenge the Ralston Valley Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mountain Vista knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 21 games -- so hopefully Ralston Valley likes a good challenge.
Mountain Vista is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: ThunderRidge, who was ranked seventh at the time (Mountain Vista was ranked eighth). Mountain Vista took a 66-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of ThunderRidge on Friday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Wednesday (56), the Golden Eagles still had to take the loss.
Cal Baskind
| 02/14/25 @ ThunderRidge | 18 |
| 02/12/25 vs Regis Jesuit | 16 |
| 02/07/25 vs Rock Canyon | 20 |
| 02/04/25 vs Legend | 21 |
| 01/31/25 vs Douglas County | 19 |
| + 5 more games |
Mountain Vista's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Cal Baskind, who posted 18 points and three steals, and Oliver Junker, who put up nine points and six rebounds. The matchup was Baskind's tenth in a row with at least 16 points. Carlos Arocho was another key player, putting up eight points and five assists.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Ralston Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They blew past Columbine 73-30 on Thursday. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 20 points or more this season.
Mountain Vista better focus on containing Tanner Braketa and Samson Wright as the pair were huge in Ralston Valley's win. Braketa went 8-for-13 on his way to 18 points and six assists, while Wright went 9-for-11 to rack up 18 points and eight boards. Those 18 points gave Wright a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Caiden Braketa, who earned ten points and seven rebounds.
Ralston Valley was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Columbine only racked up seven assists.
Ralston Valley's win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.5 points over those games. As for Mountain Vista, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 8-1 and their overall record down to 16-5.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Mountain Vista just can't miss this season, having made 50% of their field goals per game. However, it's not like Ralston Valley struggles in that department as they've made 48.6% of their shots this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mountain Vista came out on top in a nail-biter against Ralston Valley in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, sneaking past 68-66. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Braketa, who went 8-for-19 en route to 26 points and five assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Mountain Vista still be able to contain Braketa? There's only one way to find out.
