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.
Tyler Kozlowski was his usual excellent self, scoring 21 points along with three steals. Julian Chavez was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Valley is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, 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 teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Valley will challenge 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 challenge 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 matches.
