Basketball Game Preview: Pinole Valley Spartans vs. Saint Mary's Panthers

The Pinole Valley Spartans will take on the Saint Mary's Panthers in a holiday battle at at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Pinole Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell 62-50 to Albany on Friday. The Spartans have struggled against the Cougars recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Despite the loss, Pinole Valley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore De'Ari Simmons went 7 for 11 on his way to 22 points. The dominant performance gave Simmons a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cj Jensen, who posted nine points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Saint Mary's put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 60-48 victory over Vallejo.

Pinole Valley now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Saint Mary's, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-0.

Pinole Valley skirted past Saint Mary's 69-66 when the teams last played back in February. Does Pinole Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Saint Mary's turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.