Pacific Grove boys basketball

Pacific Grove (19-6, 13-1)
 Having opened the previous five years with five straight or more losses, the Breakers reversed the curse last winter with four straight wins to open the season.
 It was a sign of things to come for the reigning Mission Trail Athletic League champions.
 Then again, head coach Dan Powers has never used the preseason as a measuring stick to how things will unfold in league play.
 Powers didn't alter his schedule last year to pick up a few extra wins.
 Pacific Grove went out and earned them en route to winning 19 games last year -- which included an 11-game winning streak.
 Just one senior was on last year's title team. Meaning the core is back, anchored by reigning MTAL  Most Valuable Player Brad Sendell.
 A starting guard since his freshman year, the junior sharpshooter dropped in just under 17 points a game last year, leading the Breakers in 3-point goals, steals and assists.
 While there is no 6-foot-5 foreign exchange student to play defense, help will come in the form of Chip Wagner, who averaged nearly eight points and eight rebounds a game in the paint.
 Jake Merenda, who played in just 10 games last year after transferring from Stevenson, will make a bigger impact this year, as will Uche Ebo, a late arrival from an extended football season.
 Two-time MTAL sprint champion Zack Miller gives the Breakers another presence in the paint, as well as the ability to get out and run in transition.
 While the MTAL has gotten better as a league, the title still runs through Pacific Grove.