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BOYS HOOPS: Manteca rebounds from rivalry loss to beat Kimball
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TRACY — Valuing possessions was a point of emphasis for Manteca on Friday, and keeping turnovers to a minimum was key in defeating Kimball 62-57 to stay in the race for a postseason berth.
Jordan Burciaga’s 19 points and eight rebounds led the Buffaloes (3-2 Valley Oak League, 9-11 overall), who wanted to put their recent loss to rival East Union behind them.
“After dropping one at home I thought the boys bounced back pretty well,” Manteca coach Jason Hitt said. “Their attitudes were good and they were ready to work in practice (on Thursday). The best thing about our team is that it’s not close to peaking yet.
“Tonight, we only had seven turnovers which is our season low. That was one of our focuses for this game, because we had been averaging about 20 this season.”
Nick Bell complemented Burciaga with 14 points. Bobby Martin and Rashawn Ballard scored eight each. John Harris pumped in 17 to pace the Jaguars (1-4, 9-12).
Manteca faces Turlock for a third time this season today in the NorCal Sports MLK Showcase hosted at Edison High of Stockton. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. The Buffaloes won the previous two meetings by double digits, the second of which took place in the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

Beyer 84, Lathrop 75
MODESTO — The Spartans (5-1, 13-5 overall) were unable to complete the three-game season sweep on Friday, as Beyer (5-1, 10-8) forced its way to a share of the lead in the Western Athletic Conference.
Eddie Cotton shared game-high honors with Beyer’s Derrick O’Neal, pouring in 26 points. Walton Whaley contributed 14 for the Spartans, and C.J. Ward had 10. Patriots sophomore Gio Primofiore added 19 points and accounted for five of his team’s 12 3-pointers.
Lathrop previously downed the Patriots in the Modesto City Classic and in the first week of league play.
The two teams came out with guns blazing Friday, battling to a 21-21 tie in the first quarter. Beyer led for most of the second half and was able to pull away in the final minutes. Missed layups and free throws (13 of 25) doomed the Spartans.

Ripon Christian 73, Livingston 34
The Knights (2-1 Trans-Valley League, 12-5 overall) showed no ill-effects from Wednesday’s loss at Escalon and dominated their winter homecoming game. They were well ahead 47-19 by halftime.
“We bounced back from our poor shooting night and made nine 3s,” Ripon Christian coach Mark Hofman said. “We shared the ball and played good team basketball.”
Recent junior varsity call-up Eli Terpsma, a freshman, shared game-high honors with teammate Braden Van Groningen with 12 points. Will Gilbert and Reed Van der Hoek had 10 apiece. Dezmond Pimentel led Livingston (1-2, 8-11) with 11.

Weston Ranch 91, Oakdale 46
Jordahn Johnson accumulated 29 points and 17 rebounds, while Mi’Son Coilton fired 27 points as the host Cougars (4-1 VOL, 9-10 overall) rolled their third straight victory.