Junior Ballard didn’t come close to 51 points.
Neither did his team.
Manteca coach Brett Lewis challenged his team to ramp up the effort on the defensive end Monday when it handcuffed Ballard and the visiting Lathrop Spartans en route to a dominant 79-43 victory.
In their previous encounter, Manteca blew open a 17-1 lead but fended off a late rally from Lathrop for a seven-point win. As if that weren’t enough motivation, the Spartans’ sophomore sensation, Ballard, was coming off a sterling 51-point onslaught in an upset win at Sierra.
“We didn’t want to have another 51,” Lewis said. “We had to step up as a team, and everybody had to do their thing to stop him. We feel like we’re a good defensive team.”
There was plenty of offense to go around for the Buffaloes (6-1, 17-3 overall), who remain a game back of Weston Ranch in the Valley Oak League standings. The rematch between the VOL’s top two squads is Wednesday at Manteca.
Lathrop (3-4, 10-10) had no answer for 6-foot-9 Anand Hundal, who had 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Dwight Young lit up the Spartans for five 3s and 19 points, and 6-9 Nevada-bound forward Kenny Wooten added nine points, 11 points and three blocks.
Tydus Verhoeven, another matchup problem for the Spartans as a 6-8 guard, chipped in nine rebounds and five assists to go with five points, but his most important contribution was his early defense on Ballard, who started out 0 for 3 from the field and 4 for 7 on free throws in the opening quarter. He finished with a quiet 17 points, seven coming in the fourth quarter with the game already well out of reach for Lathrop.
“We couldn’t have played any worse,” Lathrop coach Nate McGrath said. “It was weird because we had some really good practices, a good film session and we came out as flat as ever and played as poorly as we could play.
“It’s just one of those nights. We didn’t compete, and that’s what was the most disappointing thing was the lack of competitiveness. You have to give Manteca a lot of credit, they’re a really good basketball team, and when a good team is playing well with that kind of size it’s hard to beat.”
Lathrop tried to counter Manteca’s considerable size advantage with a zone defense early on, but the Buffaloes’ guards — namely Young — seized the opportunity. Young drained four of his 3s in the first period, and his fifth extended Manteca’s lead to 33-13 with still 6:37 to go in the second. Manteca led 47-23 at halftime while holding a 25-5 advantage on rebounds.
“I was definitely licking my chops,” Young said. “I was just getting my feet set and getting ready to knock it down. I work on my shot all the time. I’m a shooter and I know I’m going to knock it down.”
Manteca also got 17 points from reserve guards Angel Perez and Matt Ender. Perez especially provided a nice spark off the bench in the second quarter when he chipped in five points and six rebounds, four off the offensive glass. He finished with nine points.
“He started every game for us last year and he’s taken on a role where he’s coming off the bench now and he enjoys it,” Lewis said. “It’s hard for kids to (accept) that sometimes, but he’s a senior with experience. That’s what helps us win games down the stretch, and he stepped up big for us tonight. He did a lot of things for us and filled up the stat sheet a little bit.”
Sophomore
Manteca 62, Lathrop 49
Leading by seven at halftime, the Buffaloes expanded their lead with a 22-10 third-quarter surge and cruised for the win.
Jorge Cedano Jr. had 12 points, and Gino Campiotti contributed 10 in what was a balanced scoring effort in which 11 different Buffaloes scored. Lathrop’s Colin Weis led all scorers with 17 points.
Freshman
Manteca 46, Lathrop 37
The Buffaloes (4-3, 9-10) got the separation they needed after holding Lathrop to just three points in the third quarter. Kyle Lynch paced the attack with 12 points, and Omar Sanchez added nine.
