The Valley Vikings came tearing into Friday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 53-44 win over Rio Grande. Given Valley's advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while Rio Grande is ranked 54th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Tyler Kozlowski, who scored 21 points along with three steals. Julian Chavez was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Rio Grande's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Santiago Gonzalez, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds. Gonzalez has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaiah Lucero, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Valley is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. As for Rio Grande, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-6.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Valley will square off against Manzano at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Manzano is out to stop a six-game streak of losses at home. As for Rio Grande, they will head out on the road to take on West Mesa at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. West Mesa has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 524 points over their last eight contests.
