Ukiah lost against Piner on January 10th and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Ukiah Wildcats fell to the Piner Prospectors 66-61. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 790th, while the Prospectors are ranked 367th).
Several Wildcats players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jacob Lunceford, who went 7 for 10 en route to 18 points and eight rebounds. Lunceford's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Adrian Gonzalez, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 11 boards.
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Even though they lost, Ukiah smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 18 consecutive contests.
Piner got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Apollo Pereira out in front who posted 22 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Pereira has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brendan Walker, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 boards.
Ukiah dropped their record down to 6-17 with the loss, which was their third straight at home. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Piner, the victory (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 15-8.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Ukiah will face off against St. Vincent de Paul at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Ukiah has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 206 points over their last three games. As for Piner, they will challenge Elsie Allen at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Piner is facing Elsie Allen at the right time seeing as Elsie Allen is stuck on an eight-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
