East Union expected Bear Creek to come out winging its best punches and got exactly that in a nonleague contest at Dalben Center on Tuesday.

The Bruins of Stockton has many advantages over East Union to begin with and were looking to remove the sting from their first loss of the season.

“They were just bigger, faster and stronger at every position,” Lancers coach Ryan Tarr said.

All things considered, his young squad showed well against the McDonald’s Classic champion. Sure, the Lancers fell 63-50, but it could have been much, much worse.

Bear Creek (10-1) jumped all over them with a 21-4 first-quarter outburst and at one point in the second East Union (6-6) trailed 29-5. The Lancers converted 10 of 12 free throws in the period to chisel away at the deficit, which dwindled down to eight in the second half.

Gyse Hulsebosch helped jump start the comeback attempt and finished with 20 points. Cody Keener scored 12, while Austin Miller and Chris Molina fired eight apiece. Bear Creek’s Andre Green led all scorers with 23.

“We kind of settled down and were able to get things going offensively,” Tarr said. “Gyse got going and they had a tough time guarding him.

“I’m happy with the way the guys responded in the last three quarters, they kept battling. We could have cashed it in and make it a long night but it wasn’t. Bear Creek just had a little too much firepower for us.



Sierra 62, Johansen 50

The Timberwolves (7-1) used a 16-7 second-quarter burst to distance themselves from visiting Johansen (4-6).

Sierra had its inside-outside game going. Center Joshua Patton dominated in the paint and finished with 24 points while forward Hunter Johnson chipped in 12. Devin Nunez added 10. He and Johnson each accounted for two of Sierra’s six made 3-pointers.

Maurice Woods hit four 3s and had 14 points for the Vikings.



Lathrop 60, Downey 43

In Lathrop, the Spartans (1-12) are now off the snide after securing their first win of the season Tuesday.

Isaiah Ellis anchored them with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Avraj Bal ended up with 10 points. Lathrop built an early 12-4 lead in the opening quarter and stayed in control the rest of the way.



Atwater 64, Ripon 45

In Atwater, the game was tied at 33-33 with 2:22 left in the third quarter until the Falcons (4-5) broke away with a 26-8 flurry.

Ripon (6-5) couldn’t keep up as it struggled to get shots to drop. The Indians made just one of their 17 3-pointers, finished 16-for-53 from the field and were 12-for-21 on free throws.

Cole Stevens had 19 points to pace Ripon. Brody Patterson, a 6-foot-7 center, pumped in all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter for Atwater.



Sophomore

Lathrop 59,
Bear Creek 56

Roman Martinez spearheaded a balanced attack for Lathrop with 14 points. Six other Spartans contributed at least six points each.



Freshman

Lathrop 51, Downey 36

The Spartans (3-2) were well ahead 28-9 by halftime. Michael Ballard poured in 17 points and four assists, and Jairus Brito had nine points and two steals.