Basketball Game Preview: Redwood Rangers vs. El Diamante Miners

The Redwood Rangers are taking a road trip to challenge the El Diamante Miners at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.

Last Friday, Redwood humbled Golden West with a 54-18 victory. Given the Rangers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 369th, while the Trailblazers are ranked 943rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Redwood can attribute much of their success to Jazmaine Stewart, who went 6 for 13 en route to 14 points along with seven boards and five steals, and Ahriel Madden, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds. That's the most points Madden has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jelena Singkeovilay, who posted six points.

Meanwhile, El Diamante got the win against Porterville on Friday by a conclusive 59-36. The Miners have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 23 points or more this season.

El Diamante is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.4 points per game. As for Redwood, their victory bumped their record up to 14-12.

Redwood came up short against El Diamante in their previous meeting back in January, falling 57-49. Can Redwood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.