Even though the Ukiah Wildcats have not done well against the Maria Carrillo Pumas recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Ukiah blew past Maria Carrillo 61-36. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 41-19.
Tony Zacarias was his usual excellent self, scoring 27 points along with six steals. The matchup was his fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Omaurie Phillips-Porter, who scored 13 points along with nine rebounds and three steals.
Despite the loss, Maria Carrillo still got an impressive performance from James Hillestad, who scored 17 points along with four steals. The game was Hillestad's fourth in a row with at least ten points.
Ukiah pushed their record up to 9-2 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.3 points per game. As for Maria Carrillo, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-2.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Ukiah will take on Casa Grande at 7:30 p.m. on December 21st. Casa Grande will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 710th, while Ukiah is ranked 118th). Maria Carrillo is on the road again on Friday and play against Kennedy at 7:00 p.m. on December 15th. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Tyler Martin and Hillestad.
