Basketball Game Preview: Pinole Valley Spartans vs. San Lorenzo Grizzlies

The Pinole Valley Spartans will head out to face off against the San Lorenzo Grizzlies at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Pinole Valley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.1 points per game this season.

Pinole Valley is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Salesian College Preparatory on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Pinole Valley was outmatched by Salesian College Preparatory and fell 66-33. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 542nd, while the Pride are ranked 19th).

Despite the loss, Pinole Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore De'Ari Simmons posted 11 points. Simmons has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last five times he's played.

Meanwhile, San Lorenzo posted their closest victory since November 21, 2024 on Friday. They had just enough and edged Encinal out 61-58.

Pinole Valley has also been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.9 points per game. As for San Lorenzo, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-6.

Pinole Valley couldn't quite finish off San Lorenzo in their previous matchup back in December of 2014 and fell 55-53. Can Pinole Valley avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.