Beyer basketball upsets Modesto

Just two days after handing Johansen High its first Modesto Metro Conference loss of the season, Modesto was on the other end of Beyer's first conference win on Friday night.

The Patriots (7-17, 1-8) outscored the Panthers 16-11 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead into the final eight minutes, then held on to celebrate homecoming night with a 46-42 victory. Adam Khattak led Modesto (9-15, 3-6) with 12 points, while Josh Fenech had 13 points and Zach Porterfield 10 for Beyer.

With Johansen's loss to Modesto earlier in the week throwing the MMC up for grabs, Downey (14-9, 6-2) stayed within shouting distance with a 65-57 victory over Enochs (8-15, 3-5.) Aaron Zwahlen had 17 points for the Knights, who started the week ranked No. 20 in Division 2 and might need to win the MMC to earn a playoff berth. Curtis Porter had 16 points for the Eagles.

• VALLEY OAK LEAGUE — Will Ward dominated inside for 22 points and Joseph Berry hit six 3-pointers en route to his 22 points as Sierra (20-2, 10-0) continued its roll through the league with a 71-45 victory over Kimball (11-12, 4-6.) The Timberwolves are The Bee's top-ranked team and are ranked No. 2 in a very deep Division 3 field.

Ben Bates scored nine points and Nick Mays had eight, but the story for Sonora was its defense, which held Manteca to eight points in the first half of a 42-33 Wildcats' victory. Sonora (13-8, 6-4) should hold solid at No. 4 in Division 4 with its success in the WAC, primarily a Division 3 conference. Manteca (9-15, 2-8) got 13 points from Tim Baker but is likely out of the running for a Division 3 berth.

East Union, ranked 21st in Division 3, moved closer to the top 16 with its second victory of the week, a 50-34 victory over Oakdale. The Lancers (12-10, 4-6) got 20 points from Alex Del Real, while Marcus Hernandez had 21 for the Mustangs (7-14, 2-8.)

• WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE — Cariun Williams hit all five of his 3-point attempts, went 10 for 11 from the field and finished with 26 points as Patterson (16-6, 5-3) kept its postseason hopes rolling with a 74-34 victory over Livingston (3-19. 0-9.) Despite the strong record, Patterson entered the week ranked No. 18 in Division 3, mainly because of the WAC's low power ranking and the poor winning percentage of the Tigers' opponents.

• TRANS-VALLEY LEAGUE — Ripon High has gone 6-2 in its last eight games, with the lone losses in that span a three-point loss to Modesto Christian and a five-point loss to Riverbank. The Indians (12-11, 5-3) announced their intent to make some postseason noise with a decisive 60-41 victory over Escalon (11-12, 4-4,) a decision likely to cost the Cougars — ranked No. 6 in Division 4 at the start of the week — a home playoff game. Ripon, which got 23 points from Jake McCreath and 17 from Cole Herrin, will be moving up from its No. 12 position.

Girls

• VALLEY OAK LEAGUE — Unbeaten East Union looks unstoppable, but Weston Ranch (8-2, 17-6) stayed within two games of the Lancers with a 69-55 victory over Lathrop. Aljanea Brown led the Cougars with 19 points. Lathrop is 4-17, 1-9.