The Merced Bears (Merced, CA) basketball nipped the host Pitman Pride (Turlock, CA), 61-57 in Wednesday's league test.

The Bears (8-6) will now prepare for their test against Turlock (Turlock, CA). The Bulldogs go into the Central California test with a 10-6 record. In their last test, Turlock got by Atwater (Atwater, CA), 56-55, in a league test.

The Pride now own a 11-3 record. They take the field next when they travel to Buhach Colony for a Central California test on Friday, January 9. Pitman will clash with a Thunder squad coming off a 87-82 non-league win over Fresno (Fresno, CA). The Thunder record now stands at 9-6.