After a string of three wins, the Chico Panthers's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a hard 73-59 fall against River Valley. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Chico came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 226th, while River Valley is ranked 569th).
Chico's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Adam Brott, who scored 14 points along with nine rebounds and five assists. The matchup was Brott's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Magnus Nielsen, who scored 14 points.
Jai Chohan was a one-man wrecking crew for River Valley as he scored 32 points. Those 32 points set a new season-high mark for him. Tarun Nijjar was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten assists.
Chico's loss dropped their record down to 8-4. As for River Valley, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-6.
Chico will be playing in front of their home fans against Oroville at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Oroville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Monday. River Valley is on the road again on Thursday and play against Placer at 7:00 p.m. on December 14th.
