ARBUCKLE, CA (MPG) – With one of the eight teams dropping out just prior to the start of the 57th Annual Pierce Invitational, the Bears sat out opening night, but for the remainder of the tournament they played twice a day.
It was certainly not an ideal situation as Pierce went 1-3, but on a positive note got an extensive amount of court time.
Playing its first two games on Dec. 4, the Bears beat Live Oak 42-26 then later fell 48-58 to Dixon.
All-Tournament selection Damien Ambriz led Pierce in scoring with 17 points against the Lions, then followed up with a 19-point effort in the loss to the Rams.
Also in the win over Live Oak, Esteban Valencia and JR Figueroa finished with 12 and 10 points respectively.
On the final day, Ambriz ended the contest with a team-high 16 points and Colin Dye added 12, but Pierce fell 49-80 to Oroville and then took it on the chin in a 25-75 loss to Pioneer.
No statistics from the game against Pioneer were made available.
Another of the seven teams competing in the tournament was Colusa, which struggled in the first two games coming up short to eventual champion Sutter 37-62 and consolation winner Oroville by a score of 51-61, although no other information was provided.
The RedHawks did defeat Live Oak in the game for seventh place, but no other information was made available.
This week both teams look to get on track with Pierce (1-5) hitting the road to play Wheatland on Dec. 9 then opening play against Hamilton City in Live Oak’s Tournament, while Colusa (1-3) was in Gridley on Tuesday and heads to Live Oak for the tournament on Thursday.