Manteca’s boys basketball team is getting tested every step up of the way in the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

The gauntlet continued for the Buffaloes on Wednesday after their tough-to-swallow defeat to Ripon Christian on opening night. They rebounded by squeaking out a 46-43 win over Downey, thanks to Peyton Nieman’s long-distance 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

“I’m just happy that the boys were able to bounce back from last night,” Manteca coach Jason Hitt said. “If you don’t bounce back after losing the first one, you can go 0-4 in this tournament real quick.”

Manteca (10-3) previously dispatched the Knights (11-4) from Modesto 47-34 at Central Catholic’s Mark Gallo Invitational on Dec. 9. Although the Buffs led for much of the rematch, 6-foot-4 standout Lloyd French was able to keep Downey within striking distance with his 23 points. Reuben Lewis contributed 16 for the Knights.

Noah Lyons and Nieman fired nine each for the more balanced Buffaloes. Nieman drained three 3s for all of his points.

In the final sequence, Downey came out of a timeout with 30 seconds left and tied it on a corner 3 from French. Hitt opted not to stop the action, as the plan for the game-winning shot was already in motion.

“During (Downey’s) timeout, I said that if they make it, we’ll take it quick and look to shoot a deep shot since they’re a real long team,” Hitt said. “Peyton had the look from deep at the top of the key and won it for us.”

Elijah Nelson and Ramesh Kabiri chipped in eight and seven points, respectively, Santiago Sanders had six points and 11 rebounds.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Buffaloes, as they’ll play battle-hardened Clovis East (9-6) today at noon. The Timberwolves rolled to a 79-53 victory over Turlock, a team that Manteca (10-3) has lost against by double digits.

“Clovis East is a great team, and we’re excited that we get to play them,” Hitt said. “Downey can beat anybody on any given night, and they proved it by taking Modesto Christian to the wire (on Tuesday). I’m really proud of the team, especially after the way we lost to Ripon Christian. Downey can beat you by 20, if you don’t come ready to play.

“Clovis East should be a great game. They get up and down, and it’s going to be a challenging game for us.”

Modesto Christian 82, Ripon Christian 39

Ripon Christian (8-5) trailed 27-2 after the first quarter against the MC Holiday Hoop Classic tourney host Crusaders (6-4). Modesto Christian poured in another 27 points in the second period for a commanding 54-17 lead at halftime.

San Diego State commit B.J. Davis knocked down four 3s and scored 15 points all in the first half for MC. Jalen Brown led all scorers with 21 points, freshman phenom Rashod Cotton added 18 and 6-foot-10 center Prince Oseya had eight.

After scoring 31 in a win over Manteca the night before, Ripon Christian’s Eli Terpsma was held scoreless for the first half but finished with 10 points. Justin Hofman paced the Knights with 12. They’ll take on Edison of Stockton today at 4:30.

Ripon 57, Bret Harte 39

It was all Ripon (3-8) from the start in this Oakdale Rotary Classic opener. The Indians built a 16-7 lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 48-22 by the end of the of the third.

Marcus Madoski amassed 13 points, three steals and three blocks. Landon Gillespie added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Ripon matches up with Sonora (6-9) in the semifinals tonight at 6:30.

GIRLS SOCCER

Ripon Christian Classic

The host Knights (6-1-3) started pool play with lopsided wins over Millennium and Escalon. They’ll face Oakmont today at 11:30 a.m., with the winner playing for the championship at 2:30 p.m. The third-place game takes place simultaneously on the junior varsity field.

Ripon Christian opened with a 6-0 win over Millennium. Addison DeJong scored in the 12th minute and again in an explosive second half in which the Knights put away five goals. Eva Benedict tallied two, while Anika Dyt and Shelby Terra each added one. Maya DeJong, Hailey Henderson and Taylor Postman contributed with assists. Goalie Tara Heida collected six saves in the shutout.

Ripon Christian broke away from Escalon to win 5-2 after a back-and-forth start. The Knights rung up four unanswered goals after falling behind, 2-1.

Kate Vander Veen tied it for RC in the final minute of the first half. Addison DeJong added two more goals to her account. Maya DeJong broke the ice 10 minutes into the match. Taylor Postma capped scoring with a blast from long range. Dyt and Henderson both had assists.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Fallbrook 48, Lathrop 46

In Day 2 of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, the Spartans (7-5) held a four-point lead with 56.9 seconds remaining but were done in by a series of miscues at El Capitan High in Lakeside.

Fallbrook (9-5) capitalized on a foul, turnover and technical foul to steal the win. In total, the Warriors made 15 free throws to Lathrop’s four. They made their technical free throws to go ahead for good with 4.4 seconds left and were able to run out the clock.

Mariana Delgado scored 16 points for Lathrop. Tatiana Lowery contributed 12 points, and Sanah Sunner had seven. Claire Nordeen anchored Fallbrook with 17 points, and Brook Quintana had 13.

Lathrop wraps up pool play in the FIBA West Division today when it takes on University (2-11) of Irvine starting 1:30 p.m. back at El Capitan.

JV boys basketball

Lincoln 39, Manteca 32

The Buffaloes came up short in their Block M Tournament championship game.

Christian Cardoza collected a team-high 11 points. Vince Cardoza chimed in with nine, and Joe Perengelli had six.

Frosh boys basketball

Manteca 43, Gregori 36

In the third-place game of the Block M Tournament, host Manteca shot out to a 13-4 first-quarter lead and held on for the victory.

Devon Richardson was the Buffaloes’ leading scorer with 12 points. Jesus Gomez grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his three points. Evan White registered nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Rob Hevener posted six points and nine boards.