Coming off back-to-back losses for the first time all season, East Union was in no position to look past a struggling, yet dangerous, intra-city rival Wednesday at Dalben Center.
The Lancers never trailed but had trouble putting away a pesky Manteca team in search of its first Valley Oak League win. Thanks to another double-double effort from Lorenzo Jones, timely defensive stops and clutch free-throw shooting, East Union prevailed, 57-50.
“Their record does not show the type of basketball team that they are,” EU coach Dutch Ell said. “They are all over the place — they fly around, they run their offense and rebound incredibly well, and they can stymie you defensively.
“The whole week, I kept saying we cannot look at record; we don’t know what team’s going to show up here and play us on Wednesday. I mean, tonight, it was a one-point game with minutes to go, so they proved that they’re a really good basketball team.”
Losers of nine straight, the Buffaloes (0-6 VOL, 6-15 overall) battled back from double-digit deficits in each half and cut it to 47-46 when Antonio Fraley spotted
Orona later had a chance to tie it from the free-throw line after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt, but he missed all three shots. Moments later, Zydell King converted a pivotal 3-point play for East Union (4-2, 15-5), which led 52-46 with 2:10 remaining and kept the Buffaloes at bay by making five of six free throws in the final 38.7 seconds.
The relentless Jones knocked down two of those free throws, finishing with 19 points and 18 rebounds. Twelve of those boards came off the offensive glass, and he grabbed eight rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Ayande Johnson contributed 11 points, five steals and two blocks. King also netted 11 points, and Jackson Fay added 10 points and five steals.
Although the Buffaloes committed 18 turnovers, much of it caused by EU’s pressing defense, they were able to slow the game down and force the Lancers to beat them in the halfcourt.
East Union was able to create good shots from inside and out but had much of them rim out.
“We’re around that part in league where you kind of see how teams are going to play you, and you understand that teams are going to take stuff away,” Ell said. “That’s VOL basketball for you. They didn’t all fall for us tonight, but we got some really good lucks. Luckily, we have a kid by the name of Lorenzo Jones that can save the day quite often.”
Manteca was paced by junior center Rehan Awan’s 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Austin Barnes chipped in 13 points and four steals. Orona finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Buffaloes also had their share of missed opportunities, going 15-for-26 on free throws, while making just one 3-pointer.
“Missed 11 (free throws) and lost by seven, and then we had some bad turnovers,” Manteca coach Geoff Israel said. “Story of the season. We’re in every game, but we may have that one bad quarter or just some bad turnovers in key moments like we did tonight.”
Keeping Jones off the glass was another issue, as is the case for most teams that East Union face.
“We told them for two days, Lorenzo, you gotta stop him,” Israel said. “He does all the dirty work. You take him away, you win the game, and they didn’t take him away. If you don’t, he’s going to score 20 on you, which he nearly did tonight, and most of it is on put-backs.”
Manteca will look to end its drought Friday at home against defending co-champion Central Catholic, while East Union welcomes first-place Mountain House.
