With time running out the East Union sophomore Lancers were able to hoist one last shot up at the buzzer, but the miracle didn’t happen in the Lancers’ 35-32 December Madness Tournament Championship on Saturday.

The Lancers (4-1) trailed McNair 20-15 at halftime and clawed back into the contest with a strong third quarter. Justin Nieto led the charge for East Union with 12 points, while teammate Aaron Ramos pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with four points in the loss.

The Lancers’ 2-1 run through the tournament field was good for a second place finish and momentum heading into the middle of the preseason schedule.

The Spartans and Jaguars gave each other a glimpse of the expectant battles for the two clubs this Valley Oak League season, with Lathrop outlasting the Jaguars for a 54-48 win Saturday in the third-place game of the tourney.

Mikey Pereznegron led the way for Lathrop, pouring in 16 points, while teammates Nilo Yuson added 15 and Gustavo Contreras finished with 10. Yuson also picked up five assists in the win.

“We’re pretty happy with the third place finish after not being able to execute on (Friday),” Lathrop head coach Bill Slikker said. “Our defense is what really led to our offensive production.”

The Timberwolves overcame a lackluster first half by outscoring the Flames 20-2 in the final period for a 49-36 win Saturday.

Emmanuel Elijah led the team with 18 points, while Justin Patton added 13.

The Timberwolves improved to 2-0 with a road win over the Lodi Flames Saturday in nonleague action. Raymond Yang led the club with 14 points, while Carlos Quintanilla added 10 and Ike Gutierrez chipped in with nine.

The Timberwolves will try and run it to three straight with a win over the visiting Ripon Indians Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

The East Union Lancers took care of business in the championship round of the Camelot Classic, outdueling a determined Ripon squad 56-39 for the tournament championship Saturday.

“We are all very excited about this one,” East Union head coach Rich Posz said. “We were actually down by three going into halftime and got back on track with a nice third quarter.”

Marina Salyer found her hot hand in the finale, scorching Ripon for a game-high 19 points on her way to Tournament Most Valuable Player. Salyer averaged just over 14 points per game throughout the tournament, knocking fown seven 3-pointers in the tourney, including three in the title game.

Alyssa Gonigan chipped in nine points for the Lancers and also earned a berth on the all-tournament team alongside Salyer.