vs
| 01/24/25 - Home | 88-24 W |
| 02/08/24 - Away | 63-47 W |
| 01/22/24 - Home | 79-35 W |
| 02/09/23 - Home | 95-39 W |
| 01/23/23 - Away | 77-67 W |
| + 5 more games |
Ralston Valley has gone 8-2 against Lakewood recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Ralston Valley Mustangs will square off against the Lakewood Tigers at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ralston Valley has 17 straight wins, Lakewood has 17 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Ralston Valley will head into Tuesday's match hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 27-point drubbing they dealt Bear Creek on Tuesday. Ralston Valley simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bear Creek 71-44. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 20 points or more this season.
Ralston Valley's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Frank Psaute led the charge by going 5 for 9 on his way to 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Tanner Braketa was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and 12 assists.
Ralston Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lakewood came up short against Bear Creek on Saturday and fell 63-53. While the Tigers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bears 12-7 in the first quarter.
Ralston Valley will need focus on slowing down Quentin Wilson, one of several Lakewood players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 15 en route to 18 points. Another player making a difference was Marcus Bane, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 16 points.
Ralston Valley's victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-0. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.6 points per game. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-16.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's matchup: Ralston Valley has been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 38.8% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Lakewood, though, as they've only made 29.4% of their three-pointers this season. Given Ralston Valley's sizable advantage in that area, Lakewood will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Ralston Valley against Lakewood in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as the team secured an 88-24 win. In that contest, Ralston Valley amassed a halftime lead of 45-15, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
