With four games remaining in the regular season, the Hancock men's basketball team leads the Western State Conference North Division by one game.
The Bulldogs will look to put a little more space between themselves and the one team standing between them and winning an outright conference title on Wednesday.
Ha00ncock has won 16 games in a row. The Bulldogs (20-4, 8-0) will play the first half of a WSC North doubleheader at Moorpark starting at 5 p.m. The Raiders (19-6, 8-1). Every other participant in the conference has at least his four conference losses.
In addition to being just below Hancock in the conference standings, the Raiders lost a close decision to the Bulldogs in a conference game. When both teams played at Hancock's Joe White Memorial Gymnasium, Hancock won 76-73.
The Hancock girls (13-11, 6-2) will play Moorpark (22-3, 9-0) in the second half of the doubleheader at 7 p.m. The Raiders have won 17 straight games and will look to tie for her conference title.
Hancockman vs. Moorpark Outlook
The Bulldogs defeated traditional rival Cuesta 74-49 on Saturday at Cuesta, gaining momentum heading into an important game at Moorpark.
Hancock's top two scorers this season, Milo Santos and Tevon Pierre-Louis, scored again Saturday, scoring 22 and 14 points, respectively. Asad Madasaria scored 12 points and Jayden Pena added eight points.
The positive trend the Bulldogs will need to continue at Moorpark unfolded on Saturday. Hancock shot 47.5 percent from the field (29 of 61) and Cuesta shot 35.4 percent (17 of 48). The Bulldogs outscored the Cougars 35-28, led by Pierre-Louis (9 rebounds) and Pena (8 rebounds).
The Bulldogs have had turnover issues at times, but were 7-for-good in the division on Saturday and just 11-for-18 against Cuesta.
Hancock hasn't been great at free-throw shooting all season, but he really stumbled in that department Saturday, going 13-of-27. There's a good chance a repeat performance from Wednesday's game against Moorpark, where he made nearly 80 percent of his free throws, could cost the Bulldogs.
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Moorpark allows a respectable 76 points per game, but scores more points than that, 85+.
The Raiders have several players who can score. Avi Halpert is averaging 18.6 points per game, Jack Benishek is averaging 17.8 points and Jamal Unuacar is averaging 14.4 points per game.
Hancock is a strong rebounding team. Moorpark is a mediocre team, averaging about the same number of rebounds per game as their opponents.
Outlook for Hancock Women vs. Moorpark
The Bulldogs will likely have their hands full against the Raiders, who defeated the Bulldogs 57-43 in Hancock earlier in the season.
Hancock came into this game riding the momentum of defeating Cuesta for the second time this season, 75-68, on Saturday.
The first time the teams met, the Cougars jumped out to a big early lead against Hancock and outscored Cuesta 18-2 in the fourth quarter for a 65-55 victory. This time, Hancock led 24-14 at the end of the first quarter, holding off the Cougars and completing the series sweep.
Hancock was the season's leading scorer against Cuesta, with Kaelii Robertson-Mack scoring 20 points, India Dowling Green and Gisele Calderon each scoring 18 points, and Mallory Branum scoring 13 points. Robertson-Mack is Hancock's season scoring and rebounding leader with 11 points. He recorded another double-double in rebounds.
It's tough to pick up points against the Raiders. They concede just 52.2 points per game. Although not a high-scoring team, Moorpark has plenty of scoring potential against opponents, with him scoring 66.6 points per game.
Sophomore guard Rebecca Saidov is the Raiders' leading scorer with 17.1 points per game. Freshman point guard/shooting guard Micah Jarrett averages 12.5 points per game.
Kenny Cress is a sports reporter for the Santa Maria Times, covering local sports in northern Santa Barbara County. You can send him information or story ideas by emailing KCress@SantaMariaTimes.com.
