Boys Basketball: Broncos, Rams Fall in Tournament Games

The Murrieta Mesa Rams are playing in the North County Basketball Classic this week and things have not been going Coach Russell Ham’s way. The Rams had come off an impressive third place effort at the Big Daddy Tournament and are ranked 11th in the Inland Empire.

"We lost to a very good San Marcos team whose record is now 9-0. They are now first in our pool. They shot 12-17 from three-point land," Ham said. “Tough team."

The Knights won convincingly, 81-56.

On the subsequent night, the Rams lost to San Jacinto by four points.

“I had three starters out for various reasons. We weren’t able to do what we normally do, which is press and speed the game up. Hopefully we’ll bounce back when we get healthy," Ham said.

Murrieta Mesa lost to the Tigers 62-58.

After winning their opening game of the Mt. Miguel Invitational Tournament 77-62 over Ramona , the Vista Murrieta Broncos have stalled and are looking to rebound Friday against the Aztecs of Montgomery High School.

Jeremy Zorotovich led the Broncos and scored 19 points in the loss to San Diego High School. Evan Roberts had  nine points, Spencer Benson seven and Anthony White contributed six. Jacob Perry also scored four points while Peter Manu had three and Jamie Nunley and Austin Beech both scored two.

San Diego won the game 56-52 in overtime.

The Broncos, ranked 10th in Inland Empire hoops, dropped the next game to the 7-2 Tigers of Morse High School. The score was 57-46. The loss drops Vista Murrieta’s season record to 4-4.

Look for Coach Andy Rucker to shake things up.