Basketball Game Preview: Pleasant Valley Vikings vs. Venture Academy Mustangs

The Pleasant Valley Vikings and the Venture Academy Mustangs will round out the year against one another at at 10:30 a.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Pleasant Valley is headed into the contest having just posted their biggest victory since December 7th on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 57-23 win over Downey.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Pleasant Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lucas Bensen, who posted ten points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Keith Thompson, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 12 points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Venture Academy had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. It was close, but on Saturdaythey capped 2024 with a 57-54 victory over Manteca. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 230th, while the Buffaloes are ranked 478th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Venture Academy's win bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Pleasant Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 5-7.