Boys hoops: Improved Panthers roll past Spartans
May 8—Pioneer Valley basketball coach Ross Rivera felt he wasn't on the top of his coaching game Thursday night.
His Panthers beat Orcutt Academy 60-48 then. But, he felt, that wasn't good enough.
So Rivera talked to his grandfather.
"That definitely wasn't one of my best coaching nights," Rivera said. "I got some advice from my grandfather, who's a good coach. I brought what he told me out here to the team and told them about it. They executed it."
Whatever advice Rivera received worked. Pioneer Valley was dominant throughout Friday's Ocean League game against the Spartans as they rolled to a 71-42 win in their home gym.
Pioneer Valley is now 5-3. The Panthers went 7-18 last year, though they went 6-6 in league games and made the playoffs.
The Panthers improved to 4-2 in Ocean League games with Friday's win.
"We've got a lot of kids who are just happy to be playing right now," Rivera said. "They love basketball. When we get in the gym, they love being there and whenever we have extra time to be in there, these guys are shooting after practice. They love being in the gym and they're really coachable."
Pioneer Valley led 18-7 after the first quarter and 34-19 at halftime before building up a 58-30 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Pioneer Valley's Jomar Soriano led the Panthers in scoring with 16 points. Jace Gomez added 15 for the Panthers. Marcus Minerva finished with 12 points and hit three 3-pointers. Nate Magni and Dylan Leon each had seven points.
Orcutt Academy senior Tanner Buzard had a terrific game on offense. He scored a game-high 24 points, using an array of moves to score from the mid-range area of the court. Trenton Buzard had nine points for Orcutt Academy.
The Panthers knocked down seven 3-pointers using an effective inside-out game against a Spartan zone defense.
"We're just picking up from last year," Rivera said. "Last year we kind of ended the season on a good run and made the playoffs. We were looking forward to a good season this year and then COVID kind of got in the way. But these guys have the same fire and they're phenomenal leaders."
Pioneer Valley is set to play at Santa Maria on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in an Ocean League game.
They then have league games against Paso Robles on Wednesday and Friday before hosting the Saints next Saturday.
Orcutt Academy fell to 1-7 on the season with Friday's loss. Orcutt Academy next plays a non-league game against Santa Ynez on May 15 before starting a two-game series against Santa Maria on May 20-21.
Arroyo Grande 60, Atascadero
The Eagles rolled to another league win and moved to 8-1 on the season with a victory over the 'Hounds.
Nipomo 81, San Luis Obispo 52
The Titans moved to 7-1 on the season with a win over the Tigers.
Daren Sosa and Joey Garcia had 19 points each. Junior Louis DiModica had eight points in the third quarter to spark Nipomo.
Girls basketball
St. Joseph 78, Mission Prep 32
The Knights routed the Royals on the road Friday.
St. Joseph is now 12-2 and 4-2 in the Mountain League.
Righetti 62, Orcutt Academy 40
Malia Cabigon led the Warriors with 15 points as Madisyn Cutliff added 12 and Alex Paquet chipped in 10.
The Warriors swept the Spartans after a 56-51 win on Thursday.
Orcutt Academy was without Giselle Calderon, who left Thursday's game with a shoulder injury. Calderon is the reigning All-Area Defensive Player of the Year and was named the Ocean League MVP as a sophomore last year.
Valley Christian Academy 49, Coastal Christian 40
Lindsey Mikkelson scored a game-high 24 points for the Lions in their season opener. She also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Jenna Mason added 11 points and and 16 rebounds.
The Lions have a game at home on Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Cuyama Valley.
Santa Ynez 40, Pioneer Valley 32
Santa Ynez senior Grace Padilla broke her own school record with 30 rebounds in the win over the Panthers.
Padilla, who's on pace to break the school career rebounding record, broke her previous single-game record of 25 in Friday's win at Pioneer Valley.
