Despite losing its first eight games, Los Angeles Pierce (4-10, 1-0) may be the wild card in the WSC North men's basketball race.

After upending defending champion Cuesta 72-68 in San Luis Obispo Wednesday night, the Brahmas are now 4-2 since point guard Torey Phillips returned from injury.

Phillips' return didn't just return Pierce its creative influence, it also allowed guard Chris Smith to move over to his more natural shooting guard position.

"Now we've got two very good ball-handlers on the court," said Babayan. "The pieces have started falling into the places that they were suppose to."

Pierce welcomes Moorpark to Woodland Hills Saturday night for a battle of two of the division's 1-0 teams. It's always fun between the local rivals, who met up in the Southern California regional quarterfinals last season with Pierce prevailing 71-60.

"Pierce-Moorpark is always a war," said Babayan. "From what I understand, our football programs don't like each other, our volleyball programs don't like each other. There's not too much love lost."