Mountain Ridge will square off against its regional rival, the Desert Mountain Wolves, at home this Friday.

The last time these two teams faced off on Jan. 11 at Desert Mountain, the Wolves came out victorious 59-53.

Mountain Ridge goes into this game with a 2-20 overall record, but the team has maintained a positive outlook.

“Despite our record, the kids come to work every single day, they come to work hard and have great attitudes,” said Mountain Ridge Coach Eli Lopez.

Desert Mountain enters with a 12-11 overall record and a 3-4 record in region play this season.

Mountain Ridge’s leading scorer and starting point guard Tanner Ray is averaging 13 points per game. 

“We are focused on improving our defense for this matchup and because it is a region game we really want to win this one,” Ray said.

With the last game ending in such a close score, the Mountain Lions look to seize this opportunity, especially the seniors.

Senior Christopher Hermes has been out for the majority of the season due to a cyst on the back of his left knee.

“I’m coming back from an injury that has kept me out for most of the season, so it’s a big game for me and I know it is for my teammates as well,” Hermes said.

The Mountain Lions have taken a different approach in preparing for Friday’s game.

“We have been watching a lot of film, preparing our course of action.  Region play is always tougher as you play them multiple times in a season, you try to mix the game up a little bit which keeps the guys aggressive and after it,” Lopez said.

The team has embraced Coach Lopez’s motto “two steps forward."

“For us, it is just doing things right, I think the players have a different measure of success for themselves and the team,” Coach Lopez said.

Mountain Ridge has a chance to get their first region win in this game, while Desert Mountain can improve their region record to an even 4-4.

 “These guys want to win every game,” said Lopez.  “Last game against Desert Mountain was a really good game, it could have gone either way and we are hoping for a better one Friday night.”