Chico is 0-10 against Pleasant Valley since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Chico Panthers will be playing at home against the Pleasant Valley Vikings at 7:30 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Chico narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Red Bluff 51-49. Given Chico's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 371st, while Red Bluff is ranked 784th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Adam Brott, who scored 14 points along with five assists and three steals. He also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Another player making a difference was Rakim Young-Thomas, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Valley entered their tilt with Shasta with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Pleasant Valley strolled past Shasta with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 70-53.
Pleasant Valley had a senior duo take command as Jacob Martin scored 15 points along with seven assists and two steals and Isiah Fortune scored 16 points along with three steals. It was the first time this season that Fortune scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cam Bussey, who scored 11 points.
Chico pushed their record up to 15-10 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Pleasant Valley, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season.
Chico suffered a grim 65-44 defeat to Pleasant Valley in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pleasant Valley's Gavin Garretson, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. Now that Chico knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
