Arvada West is 1-9 against the Mustangs since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Arvada West Wildcats will be playing at home against the Ralston Valley Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Arvada West beat the Tigers 70-60. Given Arvada West's advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 40th, while the Tigers are ranked 173rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
James Hadzic and Keegen Balistreri were among the main playmakers for Arvada West as the former scored 15 points along with six assists and the latter scored 17 points along with four steals. Hadzic continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Dane Reed, who scored 11 points.
Meanwhile, Ralston Valley waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with five straight wins but they left with six. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bear Creek 71-34 at home. Ralston Valley has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 23 points or more this season.
Jackson Hansen was his usual excellent self, scoring 20 points along with five assists and four steals. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Tanner Braketa was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with two steals.
Arvada West has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Ralston Valley, their win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-4.
Saturday's match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Jordan Stremel and Caiden Braketa. Stremel has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 10 points, 1.9 steals, and 6.6 rebounds. For his part, Braketa has averaged 16.7 points, 1.9 steals, and 3.9 assists.
Arvada West ended up a good deal behind the Mustangs in their previous matchup back in January, losing 71-56. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Braketa, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Now that Arvada West knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
