Pirates fall to Miracosta

Porterville College’s mens basketball team hung with Miracosta for about 16 minutes of Saturday’s game at home, but eventually fell to the Spartans, 87-66.
Miracosta used a late 8-0 run in the first half to carry the momentum into the second half, pushing its lead to 25.
Three Pirates scored in double figures — Keith Viliamu (13), Oscar Velasquez (13), and Alvin Wright (12).
Poor shooting doomed the Pirates, who shot 6-of-20 from beyond the arc and 8-for-21 from the free throw line.
“Our guys play hard, but they don’t know how to compete yet,” PC coach Greg Lanthier said. “You cannot play well against anyone if you can’t make shots.”
Ryan Davis led PC in rebounds with eight, while Viliamu added six and Nate Brown seven.
But the team was out-rebounded, 48-34 — the first that’s happened in Porterville’s four games so far.
CJ Harris exploded for the Spartans, scoring 27 to go with six rebounds.
Steven Hernandez had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for Miracosta.