Basketball Recap: Pioneer Takes a Loss

Pioneer was the 63-41 winner over Woodland Christian when they last played one another back in December of 2017, but their luck changed this time around. The Pioneer Patriots took a 61-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Woodland Christian Cardinals on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Patriots can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 876th, while the Cardinals are ranked 345th).

When it comes to explaining why Pioneer lost, don't look at Melvir Pooni. Despite the final result, he dropped a triple-double on 16 points, 12 boards, and 11 blocks. Pooni's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Alex Macias, who posted eight points and 13 rebounds.

Even though they lost, Pioneer smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive matches.

Romello Bruhn was his usual excellent self, going 12 of 18 on his way to 36 points and six steals for Woodland Christian. Bruhn has been hot for a while, having posted 16 or more points the last 33 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tanner Thomas, who had ten points.

Pioneer dropped their record down to 3-6 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Woodland Christian, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 4-2.

Pioneer didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 62-54 win against Woodland on the 13th. As for Woodland Christian, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 62-33 victory against Winters on the 13th.