To Simi Valley Go the Spoils in Marmonte Race

Simi Valley High can play the unfamiliar role of spoiler tonight when it hosts Thousand Oaks in a Marmonte League boys’ basketball game at 7.

The Pioneers (16-8, 5-5 in league play) won the two previous league titles with 12-0 records but will try to prevent the Lancers (19-4, 9-1) from clinching a share of their first league title since 1994.

Thousand Oaks, the No. 2-ranked team in the region by The Times, has a one-game lead over No. 4 Agoura with two games left.

The Lancers have won 10 consecutive games since losing to Agoura, 60-55, in its opener on Jan. 3.

Simi Valley is fourth in the league standings after consecutive losses to Westlake and Newbury Park, but Thousand Oaks won’t take the Pioneers lightly. Not after battling back from a 16-point halftime deficit in a 64-59 victory over Simi Valley on Jan. 17.