East Union’s girls basketball team fended off a furious comeback charge from Ripon on Thursday when the two longtime, friendly rivals met in the opening round of the Golden Valley Tournament.

The Lancers were up by as much as 22 in the third quarter but held on for the 46-43 victory in Merced. They missed four free throws in the final 15 seconds to leave the door open for Ripon (1-3), which missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

East Union (4-2) held the Indians to just two points in the second quarter to stake a 29-12 halftime lead, but foul trouble to three starters helped change the game.

Anandjap Dhami and Scarlett Ponce spearheaded the comeback for Ripon. Dhami scored all of her team-high 13 points in the second half, while Ponce nailed three second-half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Leila Sanchez added two 3s and had 10 points.

ZyonDupree Beasley paced East Union with 14 points, and Haven Stone had nine. The Lancers did not hit any 3s.

These teams will meet again in their annual non-league reunion next Tuesday at Ripon. East Union faces unbeaten Beyer in the tournament semifinal tonight at 6:30.

BOYS BASKETBALL

River Islands 74, Riverbank 55

Coach Justin Graham is getting reacquainted with a few of his old adversaries in the Trans-Valley League.

The River Islands coach has the upstart Riptide at 3-1 after it took care of Ron Peterson Tip-Off Tournament host Riverbank. They’ll now face reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champion Ripon Christian in the semifinal tonight starting at 8.

Idrees ElFarra led River Islands’ balanced attack with 21 points. Dylan Peter poured in 17, while Darius Radoc Factoran and Charles Mapanao each scored 13 points while making three 3s.

Ripon Christian 59, Ceres 53

The Knights (3-1) staved off a game Ceres (2-3) squad in the first round of the Ron Peterson Tip-Off, needing a late 7-0 burst to put the game away. The Bulldogs (2-3) trailed for most of the game but took a 50-49 lead with a 3-pointer with 5:10 to go.

Jake Vander Veen scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. Mason Tameling contributed 15 points. Chase Bunnell added 10 points, while Walker Postma blocked four shots.

Manuel Ortega spearheaded Ceres’ comeback charge, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half. The Bulldogs knocked down 10 3s to stay in the game.

Bear River 59, Lathrop 42

Lathrop (0-3) lost its opening-round game in the Rocklin Tournament and will square off with Manteca Unified rival Sierra in a consolation semifinal today.

Jordan Perkins pumped in 14 points and five rebounds for the Spartans. Caiden Wisieski had 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

GIRLS SOCCER

Sierra 5, Kimball 0

The Timberwolves (3-0) took care of their former Valley Oak League foe on the road, getting two goals and an assist from Hailey Cruz.

Leslie Reyes racked up a goal and an assist. Aman Dhillon and Maitland Kohoutek each added one. Anayla McDonald had an assist. Goalie Amaya Pacheco picked up three saves.

JV girls soccer

Sierra 8, Kimball 0

Kaylee Rodriguez continued her productive start to the season, amassing three goals and an assist in Tracy.

Abigail Fraser fired two goals and an assist. Isabella Cruz added one goal and two assists. Mikayla Mercier and Roxy Le chipped in a goal apiece. Goalie Emma Patillo garnered six saves.

Frosh girls basketball

Lathrop 52, Chavez 13

Laniyah Stroud-Prince produced 18 points, all in the first half, as the Spartans won in a landslide to start their own tournament.

Ishann Singh contributed 14 points.