Pioneer hasn't had much luck against Artesia recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Pioneer Titans will head out on the road to square off against the Artesia Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Pioneer will bounce into Tuesday's game after beating Whitney, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Pioneer walked away with a 60-53 win over Whitney on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Titans.
Meanwhile, Artesia came tearing into Friday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 68-30 victory over the Eagles. Given the Pioneers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 338th, while the Eagles are ranked 1173rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Artesia's win came from a few key players Pioneer will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jordan Heredia, who posted 12 points. What's more, he also racked up two rebounds, the most he's had since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was CJ Okeke, who put up seven points and six boards.
Artesia smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.
Artesia pushed their record up to 19-7 with the win, which was their 11th straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.7 points per game. As for Pioneer, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-6 record this season.
Pioneer came up short against Artesia in their previous matchup back in January, falling 53-42. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Okeke, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds. Now that Pioneer knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
