Pierce Invitational
It was a learning experience for both the Pierce Bears and Colusa RedHawks at the 55th Annual Pierce Invitational Tournament, which ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.
Pierce, which had just four practices prior to tip-off, finished 1-2 after losing to Oroville 30-50 in the opener and edging Live Oak 41-40 in the second, before ultimately falling to Pioneer 57–61 in the consolation game.
Against Oroville, the rust showed for the Bears as they struggled to score, and additionally were outrebounded by the Tigers, who played tough defense in the paint.
Joseph Saavedra, the Bears’ All-Tournament selection, tossed in eight points while Brayden Hoebel contributed six points, and Robert Ramirez chipped in with five.
In the second game, Pierce got some clutch free throw shooting from Drew Burnum in the waning seconds that tipped the score in the Bears’ favor, although no other details were provided.
Finishing the competition against Pioneer, Pierce kept it close, but could not overtake the Patriots.
It was a rough go of it for Colusa, who played with only one varsity returner and had to rely on JV call-ups to fill out their roster, due to the continuation of its football season into the state playoffs, as they fell 38-43 to Dixon, 41-62 to Pioneer, and 59-65 to Live Oak.
Without question, the young RedHawks played hard, but as Coach Brian Davis explained, the strength and speed needed in the varsity game is at a different level than most of the young call-ups are used to.
Seth Kalisuch tallied 13 points and Lucas Price added another 12 points in the opener against the Rams, while against Pioneer, Kalisuch again led the way 16 points, and JuJu Mendiola pitched in with 10 points.
No statistics from the finale against Live Oak were available.
Pierce (1-2) was in Orland on Monday night and opens play in the Rosemont Tournament tonight, while Colusa (0-3) will be back and close to full strength. The team traveled to Cottonwood to take on West Valley on Tuesday before playing in Live Oak’s tournament which starts today.
Maxwell 36 – St. Bernard’s 61
Maxwell 43 – Upper Lake 37
Maxwell 50 – Willits 24
The Panthers opened their season on the road at the Upper Lake Cougar Classic, where they went 2-1 in the round robin tournament last week.
After a hot start against St. Bernard’s, Maxwell struggled to score in the remainder of the contest.
However, the Panthers rebounded in the second round against the host Cougars after coming alive in the second half, then carried that momentum into the final game against Willits.
No statistics from the tournament were made available.
Maxwell (2-1) hosted Lower Lake on Monday, made the trek north to Etna on Tuesday in preparation for its home Irene Wells Tournament, which starts today.
Williams 68 – East Nicolaus 27 (11/29)
Williams 56 – Willows 57 (11/30)
Williams went 1-1 last week as it crushed East Nic in its opener before suffering a one-point loss to visiting Willows.
In the win, Brian Rosales pumped in a game-high 21 points, while Leo Trujillo and Kyden Bowen added 15 apiece, as the ‘Jacket defense held the Spartans under 10 points in every quarter of the game.
No statistics from the game against the Honkers were available.
Williams was in Live Oak on Monday and commences play in Maxwell’s tournament tonight. ■
