"It's a good start to be 2-0 in the Mt. Hamilton Division," said Pioneer coach Joe Berticevich, whose club is 13-3 for the year, "but they were two teams we should beat."

Against Hill "we did not play four quarters of basketball, which we need to do,'' explained Berticevich. "We need to keep the pressure on and not let down if we are to be competitive in this league."

The Mustangs started strong, outscoring Hill by 10 points in the first quarter and by eight in the second for a comfortable 29-11 halftime lead. Pioneer continued to extend its advantage, bringing it to a 24-point bulge by the end of the third quarter. However, the Mustangs allowed Hill to play them even in the final quarter instead of finishing strong.

Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, the leading scorer in the Central Coast Section with a 20.8 points a game average, was not quite up to par but still led the Mustangs with 12 points. He also matched that with 12 assists, adding to his CCS-leading total of 121 for the year.

Forward Mike Kaufmann found time to put in nine points while pulling down a game-high 17 rebounds. Harold Richardson's nine points and seven boards gave the Mustangs a nice one-two punch down low.

Pioneer got some good production off the bench from Joe Montelongo and Justin Kulish, who tossed in six points each. "[Kulish] did a good job off the bench and played hard," said Berticevich of Kulish, who popped a three-pointer.

Other Mustangs putting points on the board were Brent Osborn with four, Robbie Nelson and Mike Lewis with two each, and Jimmy Worrell with one.

When Pioneer traveled to Gunderson they had the long-range ball working with seven buckets from beyond the three-point arc. That helped them to start off strong and build a commanding halftime lead of 32-11.

"In the first half we did a great job on defense, contesting them and causing them to miss shots, and we had good execution on offense," Berticevich said. "Then they played us even and competed with us in the second half."

Gunderson cut the Mustang lead to 11 points late in the third quarter, but right before the buzzer Richardson nailed a three-pointer and Elgin-Taylor stole the inbounds pass and laid in another bucket for five quick points to give the momentum back to Pioneer.

Two Mustangs finished the night in double figures. Elgin-Taylor was in his customary spot at the head of the pack with 22 points and Mark Bundlie buried 10 points from the outside, including two three-balls.

Pioneer dominated the boards again with Kaufmann grabbing 10, Osborn pulling down seven and Richardson working for five. The trio also provided some good offensive production from down low. Richardson dumped in nine while Kaufmann added eight and Osborn had four.

The Pioneer scoring was completed with Nelson, Kulish and Marc Afshar each firing in a three-pointer.

Pioneer will face a stiff challenges in division play this week when the Mustangs host Piedmont Hills on Jan. 16 (7:30 p.m.), most likely with first place on the line. Pioneer is at Oak Grove on Jan. 21 (7 p.m.).