Yuba freshman Taylen Goodman (4) dunks the ball on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the 49ers’ 81-67 loss to Sierra. Photo by Steven Bryla

LINDA, CA (YSBC) - The Yuba 49ers dropped their first home game against a local opponent for the first time in nearly a calendar year as the Sierra Wolverines walked out with an 81-67 victory on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Yuba fell to 3-2 on the regular season after the loss and head coach Doug Cornelius expressed to Yuba Sutter Butte Colusa that they had their worst outing of the season against Sierra.

The Wolverines built an eight-point lead with four minutes to go in the first half and the 49ers struggled to get inside of that for the remainder of the game. 

Yuba sophomore Kanyon Rice (5) blocks a shot during the 49ers’ 81-67 loss to Sierra on Saturday, Nov. 22. Photo by Steven Bryla

The Sierra defense flustered the Yuba offense and forced multiple turnovers early on and capitalized on them down the other end of the floor for points.

Wolverines sophomore Garret Dutro led all scorers with 26 points, including six made three-point baskets. Sierra brought the right type of energy and stretched led by nine at the half, but had a lead as high as 14.

Cornelius told YSBC in pregame that this was a big game for recruiting purposes as Sierra is the closest community college to Yuba and the Wolverines excel in athletics as well.

The 49ers came out with a different intensity in the second half as they cut the Sierra lead to seven and the 49ers forced the Wolverines into early foul trouble. 

Yuba freshman Isaiah Chandavong (8) drives into the lane on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the 49ers’ 81-67 loss to Sierra. Photo by Steven Bryla

Yuba sophomore Javi Sidhu sparked with a lot of energy in the second half as he drove to the basket multiple times and converted a couple of and-one opportunities. Sidhu led the 49ers with 13 points along with sophomore Austin Ito.

Cornelius said the 49ers didn’t have the right energy and Sierra was more physical than them. He added that usually isn’t the case but Yuba didn’t play their game and they need to get back to work. 

Dutro hit four three-pointers in the second half and the Wolverines made 11 total in the game and hit their free throws as they made 18 total in the win compared to the 10 by the 49ers.

Yuba traveled down to Stockton on Tuesday night as they played their next game at Delta College. Score was not available before the print process.

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Sierra sophomore Dontrell Johnson (11) blocks a shot on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the Wolverines’ 81-67 win against Yuba. Photo by Steven Bryla