Basketball Recap: Matthew Maldonado and Muhamed Shaath Secure Win for Pioneer

Pioneer won the last time they faced Mission and things went their way on Friday too. The Pioneer Diamondbacks blew past the Mission Eagles 60-35. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Diamondbacks.

Pioneer was led to victory by Muhamed Shaath and Matthew Maldonado. Shaath went 5 of 11 on his way to 17 points in addition to eight boards and three steals, while Maldonado went 6 for 10 on his way to 17 points. Maldonado has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Nathan Reyes, who posted eight points.

Despite the defeat, Mission had strong showings from Jared Castro, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten rebounds, and Leon Villarreal, who went 7 of 15 on his way to 16 points. The dominant performance gave Castro a new career-high in rebounds.

Pioneer's record now sits at 5-6. As for Mission, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-4.

Coincidentally, both will both be playing United South the next time they take the court. Mission will head out to face United South at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, while Pioneer will play them later in the day, at 12:30 p.m.