MODSETO — Modesto used its speed and 3-point shooting to overcome Ripon Christian’s size and an early 15-point deficit to prevail 74-54 in a nonleague boys basketball contest Tuesday.
Ripon Christian (2-2) led 31-16 at one point in the first half and 33-28 at the break.
“We just started turning the ball over and they got hot,” RC coach Mark Hofman said.
The Panthers (3-1) went on a 19-8 tear in the third quarter and fired 27 points in the fourth to punctuate the comeback. They buried 11 3-pointers in all and were spearheaded by Joseph Perez’s 24 points and Ryan Silva’s 17.
The Knights did most of their damage in the post, with 6-foot-8 Jacob Vander Hoek scoring 15 points and 6-7 Andrew Vander Weide chipping in 10.

Varsity girls
Ripon Christian 52,
Bret Harte 32
RIPON — The Knights (3-1) were effective inside and out in extending their early-season win streak to three.
Rilee Clark and Kelly Engel each pumped in 12 points, with Clark making 4-of-8 3-point attempts. Renae Heida contributed nine points and eight rebounds, Taylor Anema had eight points and second-year sophomore Morgan Van Elderen collected seven to go with six assists.

Cosumnes Oaks 57, Lathrop 27
ELK GROVE — The Spartans opened their season with a tough assignment and made things even tougher on themselves by turning the ball over in seven of their first eight possessions.
Cosumnes Oaks rolled to a 16-2 first-quarter lead and didn’t look back. Lathrop was done in by 31 turnovers and shot 5 for 15 from the free-throw line.
“Very lethargic and bad game for us,” Lathrop coach Dwayne Davis said.
Rylene Crull was Lathrop’s leading scorer with seven points, and Semajynique Steen had six. Kryshara Gary added three points, seven rebounds and two steals off the bench.
“The one bright spot for us was Kryshara Gary,” Davis said. “She stole some playing time tonight. She had a good overall game.”

Sophomore girls
Ripon Christian 47,
Bret Harte 35
RIPON — Sarah Brown produced 17 points and three assists in the win.
Natasha Smith recorded 13 points and nine rebounds. Lyvia Bakker also pulled down nine boards to go with her six points.