LATHROP — Lathrop’s boys basketball team is rolling now.
Fresh off their Tracy Winter Holiday Classic championship run, the Spartans gashed visiting Patterson for 33 points in the first quarter Tuesday en route to a 76-62 win — their fifth in a row after starting the season 0-3.
“They’re starting to have confidence in each other and that’s important for us,” Lathrop coach Craig Ward said. “We’re sharing the ball much better. Now, if we can lock down on defense we can play with anybody.”
Junior Ballard led a balanced effort with 25 points and eight assists. Michael Mills contributed 17 points, Dan Ballesteros had 10 and Idowu Olaleye pulled down 10 rebounds and scored nine points.
Lathrop (5-3) was well ahead 68-44 going into the fourth quarter before pulling the starters. Patterson (4-5) was paced by Joe Okitukunda’s 22 points, and Michael Moore had 18.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Moore opened scoring for the night with a slam dunk but was silenced for much of the game until he poured in 10 in the fourth period. With Lathrop center Adonis Payton ailing, Isaiah Ward was called upon to guard the Tigers’ interior standout.
“Isaiah did very well,” coach Ward said. “He gives up a lot of height against their big guy, but he’s lower to the ground and stout, so we was able to push him around a little bit.”
Ripon 67, Atwater 61
ATWATER — The Indians (8-3) rallied for a 19-6 first quarter lead and 15, but Atwater (7-6) found a way to close the deficit to one in the second half.
Cole Stevens flirted with a triple double, finishing with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Anthony Sisk registered 12 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Kyle Sisk chimed in with 14 points and seven boards. Aaron Paschini added 10 points.

GIRLS HOOPS
Manteca 58, Tracy 45
TRACY — Trailing for most of the game, Manteca (3-5) dominated the fourth quarter 20-2 to race away with a lopsided victory.
Tracy (1-6) shot out to a 12-7 lead and was up 24-17 at halftime.
Loretta Kakala and Kacy Bolding pumped in 11 points apiece for the Buffaloes, while Malia Parangan contributed 10. Caitlin Bowman and Izzie Valdez scored 11 each to lead Tracy.

Lodi 60, Sierra 28
Lodi (8-2) blew it wide open with a 21-1 third-quarter run after leading 28-21 at halftime.
“We had a great second quarter and had the momentum going into the second half, but our inability to score reared its head again,” Sierra coach Martha Spivey said. “We only scored seven points in the entire second half. Scoring and being an offensive threat is definitely something we’re going to continue to work on.”
Alison Edwards did much of the damage for the Timberwovles, scoring 19 points. Lodi’s Monica Valenzuela topped all scorers with 20 points.

G. Davis 60, Ripon 52
RIPON — Reina Sausedo accumulated 21 points and 10 rebounds, but the Indians (5-3) couldn’t overcome their lackluster start. Grace Davis (3-2) limited Ripon to eight points in the first quarter and opened up a 32-19 halftime advantage.
“We did a great job of not quitting and battling back to make a game of it,” Ripon coach Rick Inderbitzin said. “We started making our shots and playing better defense.”
Bailie Hauter and Lea Anderson carried the load for the Spartans, amassing 26 and 24 points, respectively. Katie Kaiser scored 14 points for Ripon, while Janessa Inderbitzin pulled down nine rebounds.

Soph boys hoops
Lathrop 72, Patterson 53
LATHROP — Isaiah Victor spearheaded the Spartans (7-5) with 18 points and six assists.
Walton Whaley added 15 points and four assists, while Braydon Rollins had nine points to go with three steals.

Soph girls hoops
East Union 50, Sonora 45
Powered by Nina Murphy’s 24 points, the Lancers came away with a second competitive win in as many nights.
Jaidyn Valencia and Sarah Gloeckler contributed eights apiece.

Frosh boys hoops
Ripon 59, Atwater 19
ATWATER — Ripon stretched its season-opening win streak to nine after routing Atwater on Tuesday.
Aiden Benzinger tallied 18 points, Dorian Dougherty finished with 11 and Grant Wiebe scored 10 while pulling down six rebounds. Nico Ilardi pitched in with 12 steals and five assists.

Manteca 57, Turlock 47
The Buffaloes (3-3) are on a three-game winning streak after Jacob DeJesus gashed Turlock for 21 points.
Jordan Burciaga contributed with 13 points, while Spencer Brisco buried three 3s for nine points.

Frosh girls hoops
Ripon 79, G. Davis 48
RIPON — Only the game-ending buzzer could slow Lilianna Mejia’s roll in this nonleague tilt.
She torched the Spartans for 41 points and seven 7s, and this was after Mejia was held scoreless in the opening quarter. She accounted for 20 of Ripon’s 22 points in the second quarter.
The Indians led 37-31 at halftime and blew it open from there, outscoring Grace Davis 20-5 in the final period. Mikaylah Vaught also did her part, draining six 3s for her 18 points.