The Rio Rancho Rams will take on the Sandia Matadors at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Rio Rancho knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine games -- so hopefully Sandia likes a good challenge.
Rio Rancho is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Mexico's top teams: Farmington, who was ranked 16th at the time (Rio Rancho was ranked 15th). Rio Rancho took a 68-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Farmington last Tuesday. The Rams haven't had much luck with the Scorpions recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Noah Lovato
| 02/25/25 @ Farmington | 24 |
| 02/21/25 vs Cleveland | 31 |
| 02/19/25 vs Piedra Vista | 21 |
| 02/14/25 vs Cibola | 17 |
Rio Rancho might have lost, but man, Noah Lovato was a machine: he shot 64% from the field to rack up 24 points and five rebounds. The matchup was Lovato's fourth in a row with at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Kevin Archuleta, who went 7-for-13 on his way to 14 points.
Even though they lost, Rio Rancho smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. This was only their fourth loss (out of 15 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, Sandia had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.9 points) and they went ahead and made it nine on Saturday. They walked away with a 52-43 win over the Bears. The 52-point effort marked the Matadors' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Rio Rancho better keep an eye on Zaire Ndyabagye. He was instrumental in Sandia's win, dropping a double-double with 16 points and 19 boards. Ndyabagye is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last five games he's played. Thomas Adams was another key player, putting up eight points.
Sandia's victory was their 12th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.5 points over those games. As for Rio Rancho, their loss dropped their record down to 15-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Rio Rancho has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Sandia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Rio Rancho came up short against Sandia when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 72-62. Can Rio Rancho avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
