Basketball Recap: Sierra Pacific Takes a Loss

If Sierra Pacific was feeling good fresh off their 66-22 takedown of Reedley last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Sierra Pacific Golden Bears took a 68-53 bruising from the Clovis Cougars on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Golden Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while the Cougars are ranked 13th).

When it comes to explaining why Sierra Pacific lost, don't look at Asia Jackson. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 25 points and 14 boards. The dominant performance gave Jackson a new career-high in rebounds. Apajok Ayuen was another key player, putting up 11 points and six boards.

Even though they lost, Sierra Pacific 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 nine offensive boards in five consecutive games.

Sierra Pacific's defeat dropped their record down to 15-8. As for Clovis, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 20-6.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Sierra Pacific will square off against Hanford West at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Sierra Pacific is on a four-game streak of home wins, Hanford West a six-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court. As for Clovis, they will challenge Clovis East at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Clovis' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four contests.