SONORA — East Union’s boys basketball team overcame a slow start and sloppy finish to knock off Amador 40-38 in the first round of the Columbia College Tournament on Wednesday.
The Lancers (4-7), who were down 21-16 at halftime, threatened to take a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and were ahead six with 1:30 remaining. Instead of working the clock, they chucked up quick shots that allowed the Buffaloes (6-8) from Sutter Creek to hang around.
Amador hit a 3-pointer, then made one of two free throws on its final possession before East Union was able to escape with the victory.
“We didn’t do a good job of with our possessions down the stretch,” East Union coach Ryan Tarr said. “We had an off night (offensively) and didn’t shoot well in the first half, but we played good enough defense to get the win.”
Coming off a pair of 20-point outbursts, Blake Greenlee once again led the Lancers with 19 points. JoJo Espinosa added 10, Drew Andrews finished with 13 for Amador.
East Union meets Stagg (9-3) in the semifinal round today at 5. The Delta Kings opened with a 47-38 win over Summerville.
Ripon Christian 73, Grace Davis 16
OAKDALE — It was all Ripon Christian (7-4) in this 48th annual Oakdale Rotary Classic opener.
The Knights built a 41-13 halftime and continued to dominate on the defensive end, holding the winless Spartans (0-12) to just three points over the last two quarters.
Jacob Vander Hoek (16 points), Jadon Vander Molen (15) and Andrew Vander Weide (13) finished in double figures. Fletcher Jackson pitched in with nine points. The Knights face tournament host Oakdale or Los Banos tonight at 8.
GIRLS
Culver City 42,
Lathrop 21
SAN DIEGO — There are no “gimmies” for the Spartans (6-2) this week in the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
They struggled offensively Wednesday when they tipped off pool play in the NCAA Blue Division and got shut out in the third quarter as Culver City (8-3) rolled to a 37-10 advantage. Lathrop’s Myani Thornton was the only player to reach double figures with 11 points. Junie Dickson and Lauren Jones each had eight for the balanced Centaurs, who were able to gain separation by hitting eight 3-pointers.
Lathrop takes on Serra (5-2) of San Diego today at 5 before wrapping up pool play Friday against Santa Margarita (8-3).
“Everybody we play is go into be a tough team,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said. “That’s one of the reasons we came down.”
