Basketball Game Preview: Laytonville Warriors vs. Point Arena Pirates

Laytonville is 2-8 against Point Arena since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Laytonville Warriors will welcome the Point Arena Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Laytonville turned things around against Tomales last Tuesday. They came out on top against the Braves by a score of 37-26.

Meanwhile, Point Arena waltzed into their game on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They blew past the Bearcats 74-21. Given the Pirates' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 535th, while the Bearcats are ranked 1458th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Laytonville better keep an eye on Fernando Lopez. He was instrumental in Point Arena's win, dropping a double-double on 31 points and 17 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Lopez has scored at least a third of Point Arena's points. Mateo VanCleave was another key player, going 9 of 16 en route to 22 points.

Point Arena smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 16 offensive boards in 43 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Point Arena is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Laytonville, their victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 4-10.

Laytonville was dealt a bruising 76-16 loss at the hands of Point Arena in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lopez, who dropped a triple-double on 15 points, 11 boards, and ten assists. Now that Laytonville knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.