Redwood Men’s Basketball Looks to Impress in Rivalry Game

By: Tyler Stark

Ranger fans, you are in for a treat tonight! Your Redwood Rangers, with a current record of 14-6 , are taking on their inner-city rival the El Diamante (El D) Miners (9-7).

Redwood is currently on a very impressive three-game winning streak, the most recent of those wins coming against the talented Hanford Bullpups on Tuesday. 

Ranger head coach Jason Black is coming into tonight’s matchup with the same mindset he’s always had. “Tomorrow’s game is just like any other. They all are big. We talk about humility and remaining focused. We want a league championship and that’s our goal. One game at a time.”

The hype for tonight’s matchup has been insane. There’s an intense rivalry between these two programs, and when the Miners play the Rangers, fans know it’s sure to be a great, competitive game.

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Nahir Karimi ‘22 believes that all the noise leading up to this game adds to the excitement level. “There definitely is more excitement than usual surrounding this game and that’s what makes the game exciting, my team and I are 100% ready.”

Karimi says, “They are always scrappy, so we just gotta be solid and play our game and the rest will handle on its own.”

This matchup is one that is incredibly exciting. The excitement of the game goes beyond the rivalry aspect. Karimi hit the nail on the head when he talked about how gritty and tough the Miners are. This is a very tough team; we should be in for a very physical yet exciting game tonight.

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Tonight’s game very well could feature the largest crowd of the season. Kolby Howard, ’22 said, “It’s gonna be great seeing a big crowd. We’ll be able to feed off of all the energy.” 

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Howard goes on to say his squad is confident coming into tonight’s big matchup. 

While the Rangers are incredibly focused on tonight’s game, it’s getting close to the postseason and teams are starting to think about the playoffs. Miguel Williams ‘22 believes that his team is a great place right now, and he hopes they can make it to playoffs.  

Williams says, “I think our team is in a solid place. We are more united than ever and hungry for victories. I do believe we can make it in the playoffs this year.”

With the way the Rangers have been playing, they are going to be a tough team to stop in the playoffs. If these boys keep doing what they are doing the sky’s the limit for them.

Joey Volchko ‘23 is ready to embrace the moment tonight. Volchko says, “It’s really exciting because of the support we get from not only students but the Redwood families. The student section gets really into games like this and every bucket is celebrated much more than other games. Momentum is a huge factor and an advantage is being a home game.”

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