The Pacific Union College men’s basketball team returns three starters from a team that finished sixth in the nine-team California Pacific Conference last season, and are already showing improvement offensively.

The Pioneers have averaged 71.0 points per game during their 1-3 start, which has included a two-point loss. With last year’s Cal Pac champion, CSU East Bay-Hayward, and third-place finisher Dominican-San Rafael no longer in the league, Pacific Union’s chances are even better.

“We are very optimistic about another competitive Cal Pac Conference season,” third-year Pioneers head coach Robert Castillo said. “Our mix of young and new talent, and returning veterans, will help us compete night in and night.”

Pacific Union will open conference play at home Jan. 7 against Simpson-Redding, the conference doormat last year, before visiting last year’s runner-up and current conference favorite, William Jessup-Rocklin, two days later. The Pioneers are picked to finish fourth in the conference. With all seven teams assured of playoff spots, only seedings are up for grabs.

Leading Pacific Union’s returners are All-Cal Pac forward Brandon Monty, a 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward from Las Flores, Calif., reigning conference Defensive Player of the Year Kameron Barnes, 6-4 senior forward from Keene, Texas, and one of the last year’s Cal Pac 3-point shooting-percentage leaders, 6-3 junior guard/forward Aren Rennacker of Sacramento.

Key additions include 6-6 junior forward Kenny Penn, a Claremont, Calif. native who transferred from the University of Great Falls (Mont.) and gives the Pioneers a legitimate presence in the post. The Pioneers also welcomed Salinas High product Will Bell, a freshman point guard whom Castillo said is calm at handling the ball, has a knack for passing, and plays solid defense.

Rounding out the squad are 2009 PUC Prep graduate KC Brown, a 6-2 guard; 5-10 senior guard Andrew Webster out of Sacramento; 6-2 junior guard Eric Tua from Orangevale; 5-9 junior guard Manny Gonzales of Visalia; 6-2 junior forward Jonathan Osorio of Los Angeles; 5-10 sophomore guard Maurice Williams from Pittsburg by way of Porterville College; 6-4 sophomore forward Sterling Thompson of Orlando, Fla.; 5-11 sophomore Michael Giang of Loma Linda, Calif.; 6-4 sophomore forward Danny Sepulveda of Placerville; and 6-3 freshman Jesse Soto of Franklin-Stockton.

Pacific Union opened the season Nov. 9 with a 70-68 home win over Northwest University (Kirkland, Wash.), turning the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 9.5 seconds left but keeping the visitors from getting a good look at the buzzer. Penn opened his Pioneer career with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Barnes added 17 points.

A week later, at Notre Dame de Namur-Belmont, Monty scored a game-high 22 points and had six assists in a 76-69 loss. Penn (13), Barnes (12) and Rennacker (10) also scored in double figures.

Two more losses followed at an Oregon Institute of Technology tournament in Klamath Falls. In a narrow 78-76 setback to Southern Oregon on Nov. 20, Monty (17 points) and Barnes each hit go-ahead baskets down the stretch. The next day, PUC fell 90-52 to Oregon Tech, ranked 11th in the NAIA Division II, despite 16 points from Penn and 12 from all-tournament selection Monty.

The Pioneers will return from a 19-day break from competition on Dec. 10, when they visit Chico State. The Wildcats opened their season only Friday with a 74-62 win over Lewis & Clark College, but will have also played four games by the time Pacific Union visits.

Their next home game is Dec. 13 against Clarke College (Dubuque, Iowa) at 3 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

The Pioneers (2-4) have already surpassed their entire victory total from last season, when they went 0-16 in the Cal Pac and 1-25 overall with a 52-51 nailbiter win over Southwestern Bible College.

Third-year head coach George Barcenas’ returners are led by junior Vanessa Felder and sophomores Devin Tinny and Carla Bartlett and two newcomers, sophomore Lara Canders and freshman Gabby Alvero.

Tinny, a 5-9 forward from Apopka, Fla., led last year’s team with 12.8 points per game. Bartlett, a 5-5 guard from Banning, Calif., was the team’s assists leader with 8.9 a night. Felder, a 5-foot-10 forward from Elk Grove, grabbed a team-high 7.7 rebounds.

Canders, a 5-7 guard, is from Concord but played last year at Moravian College in Pennsylvania. Alvero, a 5-3 guard, hails from British Columbia, Canada.

Rounding out the roster are 6-foot- junior center Claudia Balderas out of powerhouse Sacramento High, 5-10 freshman center Lacey James of Sonora High; 5-8 freshman forward JoAnne Mauries of San Gabriel, Calif.; and four sophomores — 5-7 guard Jalissa Engelage of Diamond Springs near Placerville; 5-4 guard Julie Ford of Sacramento; 6-foot center Erin Truex of Oxnard, Calif.; and 5-5 guard Kay Tangonen of Sacramento.

Pacific Union (2-4) opened the season Nov. 8 with an 82-44 home loss to the 18th-ranked Division II team in the NAIA, Southern Oregon, then fell 102-45 at Dominican-San Rafael on Nov. 17 despite Bartlett’s 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Canders was named Cal Pac Player of the Week during the Pioneers’ most recent four-game stretch, which saw them fall 77-37 to La Verne and beat Pomona Pitzer 66-63 at the SoCal Tip Off Classic, fall 95-44 at Whittier last Monday, then prevail 56-46 over Cal Tech-Pasadena on Tuesday.

Next up for the Pioneers is Thursday night’s game against Southwestern College of Phoenix, Ariz., at Menlo-Atherton. After playing Great Falls and Lewis and Clark State at a Dec. 12-13 tournament in Spokane, Wash., Pacific Union will host Simpson-Redding in its Cal Pac opener on Jan. 7.