The 22nd ranked Moorpark Raiders were able to hold their homecourt against the visiting Cougars last Saturday, 79-69,  and remain atop the WSC Standings.  Cuesta Men's Basketball is the only team in the Western State Conference to beat #22 Moorpark this season, after downing them by 10-points, 67-57,  in the 2025 WSC Opener on January 15.  Last weekend the Raiders evened the series with a ten-point win of their own,, while adding to their 13-game WSC home winning streak.  The Raiders swarmed the Cougars leading scorer Alessandro Perotti and held him to a season-low six points, while harassing him into five turnovers.  Of course, Moorpark's commitment to defense in the paint also opened the outside, where Cuesta Guard Shinichi Itoh (pict) netted four three-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points.  The Cougars remain the only team in the conference to beat the Raiders this season, but last week's loss dropped them a half-game out of second place in the WSC, with 5-3 mark against the circuit and 16-8 overall.

The Cougars open this week at home with Oxnard coming to SLO on Wednesday (7 PM).  The Condors have already beaten the Cougars twice this season and are chasing the program's first WSC title since 2003.  The Cougars will end this week in Ventura on Saturday (5 PM).  The Cougars beat the Pirates, 73-57, in their first meeting in SLO on January 22.