MODESTO — East Union and Lathrop’s boys basketball teams were victorious in the Modesto City Classic on Thursday at Downey High.
East Union is headed to the winners-bracket semifinals with its 81-62 throttling of Hughson, while Lathrop held off Modesto 79-73 in consolation action.
Parm Khattra paced the balanced Lancers (5-1) with 20 points while making four 3s. Christian Cuevas drained three from long range for the bulk of his 15 points. Freshman Dylan Lee and Lydell King contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
East Union plays El Capitan or Lincoln tonight at 8.
Meanwhile, Lathrop faces off tourney co-host Downey today at 5 after repelling a late charge from Modesto. The Spartans (3-3) were ahead by as much as 20 points before the lead dwindled with reserves on the floor.
Daniel Whaley pumped in 22 points, C.J. Ward contributed 15, Jalen Bagby 12 and Julian Chavez 10. Second-year junior post player Eddie Cotton sat out with a sore knee.
Sierra 65, Natomas 50
STOCKTON — Sierra (3-1) rebounded from its first loss of the season and routed the Nighthawks (1-3) from Sacramento in the Stockton Children’s Classic.
Zachariah Curry did the most damage, firing 20 of his 23 points in the first half. The Timberwolves started the tournament with an 80-54 loss to Central of Fresno and play Galt or Florin tonight at Brookside Christian starting at 8.
Ripon Christian 74, McNair 47
RIVERBANK — The Knights opened their season with a dominant effort in the first round of the Ron Peterson Tipoff Tournament.
Down 12-9, they outscored McNair (0-5) 27-12 in the second period and remained in control from there. Cousins Jacob and Braden Van Groningen led the way with 18 and 15 points, respectively. For Braden, it was his first game back in action since sitting out his entire sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury.
Will Gilbert pitched in with 10 points, and Caleb Terpstra had nine. Damon Tate scored 17 for the winless Eagles.
Ripon Christian plays Calaveras tonight at 6:30.
Manteca 55, Turlock 39
TURLOCK — Jordan Burciaga racked up 19 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and Spencer Briscoe chipped in 10 points as the Buffaloes pulled away in the fourth quarter.
“It was a close battle until the final five minutes,” Manteca coach Jason Hitt said. “I’m proud of our guys right now. They’re going through some growing pains with extended minutes. We have some football players still out and we’re waiting for others to get healthy.”
The Buffs begin the Mark Gallo Invitational with Newark Memorial on Dec. 10 at Central Catholic.
Stagg 59, Ripon 47
STOCKTON — Malik Taylor’s seven 3-points and 26 points were not enough to overcome Ripon’s 23 turnovers, 16 in the first half of the Joe Nava Delta Kings Classic.
The Indians (1-1) have several of their top players still on the football team and will take on Patterson today at 5. Brayden Haines added seven points.
