Central Valley's and Patterson's varsity boys basketball teams placed second and third, respectively, in the Western Athletic Conference standings last season.
The Hawks and Tigers are expected to contend for the WAC title this year.
Central Valley and Patterson faced off this past week.
The Hawks dominated early and escaped with a 50-46 road win on Wednesday.
"We made a statement to the rest of the teams in the WAC," said Parker Griffin, a 6-foot-5 212-pound senior post player for the Hawks. "We're a serious contender. We're going to go far."
Griffin totaled a team-high 15 points.
Jaron Dickson, Daevon Brown, Manuel Garcia, Devon Bolivar and Larenz Johnson had 13, nine, seven, four and two points, respectively.
Dickson, Brown and Garcia all buried one 3-pointer.
Patterson's Kevin Phelps led all scorers with 19 points.
Gary Bonney and Michael Lawson finished with 14 and nine points, respectively.
Gurkirt Heerey and Aren Sani both contributed two points.
"We're the two best teams in the WAC," Central Valley head coach Darryl Dickson said.
The Hawks got off to a great start as they built a 17-8 lead in the first quarter. Griffin tallied 11 points.
"I'm really proud of Parker's effort," coach Dickson said. "He got good post position and made some clutch shots for us."
"I just came out with the right mindset," Griffin said. As a team, we were focused and determined. They're pretty much our biggest competition in league."
The Tigers outscored the Hawks 30-22 in the middle periods.
Ahead by just one point, Central Valley held on for the victory. The Hawks had an 11-8 scoring advantage in the final period.
"We didn't shoot very well," coach Dickson said. "I attribute that to what Patterson was doing. It was a very competitive game. We got lucky. They had a chance to win the game but missed a 3-footer."
"They always have a packed gym," Griffin added. "It's always noisy in there. We didn't let it bother us. We just played our game. They doubled Jaron and Daevon. That left me with just one man on me. That's an advantage for me. I have a pretty strong presence in the key."
Central Valley pulled away for a 63-48 win over Hilmar on Thursday.
Dickson scored 16 points.
Griffin, Brown and Moses Ghiorso netted 11, nine and seven points, respectively.
Garcia and Simeron Singh contributed six points each.
Inayat Sahota had four points.
The Yellowjackets challenged the Hawks in the first half. Central Valley held a slim 30-27 lead.
Central Valley outscored Hilmar 20-5 in the third period.
"We have the same mindset for every game," Griffin said. "We want to win."
Central Valley (14-3, 2-0) will play at Los Banos today and host Pacheco on Friday. Both league games will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
