No. 27 Pirates win two straight to even up conference record

PORTERVILLE --- The No. 27 state-ranked Porterville College men's basketball team snapped a three-game slid by winning a pair of games at home to close out the week as the Pirates cruised to a 105-65 rout over Reedley College on Wednesday and defeated Merced College 95-86 on Saturday.

The Pirates improved to 12-6 overall and currently sit in fourth place in the Central Valley Conference standings at 3-3. They'll face a big test on Monday (Jan. 31) when the Pirates travel to No. 3 Columbia College for a 6 p.m. CVC contest.

On Wednesday, PC jumped out to a commanding 52-23 lead at halftime and was never challenged. Alberto Laureano posted his second double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 21 points to go with 11 rebounds.

Julio Phipps also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Chirrag Sidhu totaled 20 points and Isaiah Josue contributed 18 points.

The Pirates had a tougher time with Merced. PC once again got out to a big lead, going up 47-28 halftime, but had to withstand a late rally by the Blue Devils to hang on for the victory.

Sidhu was PC's leading scorer with 20 points. He nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds.

Chozen Amadi scored 17 points and Mason Pryor chipped in with 13 points.