Basketball Game Preview: Sierra Pacific Golden Bears vs. Central Valley Christian Cavaliers

The Sierra Pacific Golden Bears are taking a road trip to challenge the Central Valley Christian Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Sierra Pacific took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They managed a 68-64 win over Kingsburg.

It was another big night for Nevin Pitkin, who posted 26 points along with six assists and six steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 11 games he's played. Colin Dodd was another key player, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Pitkin wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Sierra Pacific was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Central Valley Christian over Exeter in every quarter on their way to victory on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Central Valley Christian blew Exeter out of the water with a 65-31 final score. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cavaliers.

Sierra Pacific better keep an eye on Caden Lloyd. He was instrumental in Central Valley Christian's win, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 18 boards. That's the most rebounds Lloyd has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Gunnar Piepgrass, who scored eight points and five boards.

Sierra Pacific is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-13 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.4 points per game. As for Central Valley Christian, their record is now 16-9.

Sierra Pacific lost to Central Valley Christian on the road by a decisive 67-52 margin when the teams last played two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lloyd, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 12 rebounds. Now that Sierra Pacific knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.