Basketball Recap: Apollo Pereira's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Piner over Rancho Cotate

If Piner was feeling good fresh off their 65-33 takedown of Sonoma Academy last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Piner Prospectors took a 56-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rancho Cotate Cougars. The Prospectors were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Cougars apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

Piner lost on Wednesday despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Apollo Pereira, who posted 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Pereira has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last 12 times he's played. Tyler Coester was another key player, putting up nine points and seven assists.

It was another big night for Izayah Rush, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and ten rebounds for Rancho Cotate. Another player making a difference was Connor Kinerk, who had seven points and three steals.

Piner has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-8 record this season. As for Rancho Cotate, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-2.

Piner and Rancho Cotate should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. Piner (ranked 423rd) will meet Ukiah (ranked 971st) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Piner is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.4 points per game this season. Meanwhile, Rancho Cotate (ranked 227th) will meet Elsie Allen (ranked 953rd) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.