The Point Arena Pirates waltzed into their match on Saturday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They took down Mendocino 70-54. Point Arena pushed the score to 55-34 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cardinals cut but never quite recovered from.
It was another big night for Fernando Lopez, who almost dropped a double-double on 30 points and nine rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Billy, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds.
Mendocino lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Theo Hahn, who scored 12 points. Another player making a difference was Dylan Zeramby, who scored 12 points.
Point Arena pushed their record up to 14-5 with that victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.2 points per game. As for Mendocino, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-8.
Point Arena will take on the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Anderson Valley has now lost 11 straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 1. As for Mendocino, they will head out on the road to square off against the Mustangs on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in California (Round Valley is ranked 975th, while the Cardinals are ranked 969th).
