Point Arena is 0-4 against St. Vincent de Paul since December of 2019 but things could change on Wednesday. The Point Arena Pirates are taking a road trip to take on the St. Vincent de Paul Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Point Arena's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 11 contests.
Point Arena is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They came out on top against Summerfield Waldorf by a score of 62-53.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Point Arena to victory, but perhaps none more so than Fernando Lopez, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and 12 boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Lopez has scored at least a third of Point Arena's points. Another player making a difference was Mateo VanCleave, who posted 19 points.
Point Arena smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive rebounds in 50 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, St. Vincent de Paul's game on Saturday was close up to the half, which is when they kicked things up a notch. They put the hurt on Valley Christian with a sharp 72-50 victory. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 21 points or more this season.
St. Vincent de Paul found their leader in sophomore Dylan Chelew, who went 8-for-13 on his way to 22 points and five rebounds. That's the most points Chelew has posted since back in December of 2024. Jacob Peralta also deserves some recognition as he posted his first blocks of the season.
Point Arena has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 15 of their last 16 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.6 points over those games. St. Vincent de Paul's win bumped their record up to 18-10.
Wednesday's game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Lopez and Chelew. Lopez has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 24.7 points, 2.2 steals, and 11.2 boards on 51.2% shooting. For his part, Chelew has averaged 13.3 points, 1.8 steals, and 4 rebounds.
Point Arena and St. Vincent de Paul were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, but Point Arena came up empty-handed after a 41-40 loss. Can Point Arena avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
