Big (sp)Ender: Manteca guard shadows Lathrop phenom in tight VOL win

During Manteca High School’s run to a CIF State Division III boys basketball championship, coach Brett Lewis surrounded his stars with the right role players.

One of those unsung heroes was Angel Perez, a high-energy guard who often drew the opposing team’s top scorer.

This season, Lewis has given that assignment to junior Matt Ender, now in his second season at the varsity level.

Ender shadowed Modesto Christian’s Darrian Grays in their Holiday Hoop Classic finale last week and then marked Lathrop’s Junior Ballard in a 66-62 victory Tuesday.

Ballard still reached his average, netting 24 points in the Valley Oak League opener, but Ender made life difficult on one of the top-scoring guards in the Central Valley.

“Ender brings a lot of energy and grit for us,” Lewis said. “He has been playing point guard and guarding the other team’s best guard as of late. … Defensively, he has been huge. He really knows how to get under those guys’ skin. On the defensive end, he really shows the football side of him. He guarded Ballard a lot tonight, probably from the second quarter on.”

The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Buffaloes (8-5, 1-0), who received across-the-board contributions. Dwight Young led three Manteca players in double figures with 17 points on three 3-pointers. Gino Campiotti and Tydus Verhoeven scored 14 and 13 points despite sitting most of the second quarter with foul trouble.

Manteca’s bench stood tall without its tallest players. The Buffaloes trailed Lathrop 17-16 after the first quarter but forced a 30-30 tie at the half.

Jorge Cedano scored nine points on three 3s, and football player Justin Kakala scored four points in his first extensive action of the season. Kakala suited up for the Holiday Hoop Classic but did not play because of knee and shoulder pain that carried over from the fall.

Ender had five points, six assists and five rebounds, and Verhoeven had nine rebounds and four assists.

“He helps make our offense go,” Lewis said of Ender. “He is the best at pushing the ball in the break and getting others shots.”

And altering those for the opposing team. Ender took on the challenge of guarding Ballard after Verhoeven went to the bench in foul trouble.

Ballard scored 18 of his 24 points over the final three quarters, but Lewis said nothing came easy – a testament to Ender’s defense and Ballard’s supreme shot-making.

“He could very well be our Angel this year,” Lewis said. “He held (Elijah) Hardy of (Bishop) O’Dowd scoreless in the NorCal game, so he did this last year late for us, too.”

Manteca finally solved its third-quarter woes, outscoring Lathrop 21-12. The Buffaloes led by 10, “but we just couldn’t put them away,” Lewis said.

The separation was enough, though, and a welcome sight for Lewis, who was dumbfounded by his team’s struggles in the third quarter at the Holiday Hoop Classic. The Buffaloes had eventual tournament champion Salesian and Modesto Christian, the Stanislaus District’s No. 1 large-school team, on their heels early in the third quarter before going flat.

Lathrop cut the deficit to one with about two minutes left but could not tie or take the lead.

Adonis Payton scored 18 points, but no other Lathrop player scored more than six. The Spartans (8-6, 0-1) have lost three straight.

Manteca hosts Weston Ranch (7-6, 0-1) on Thursday. The Cougars are the defending VOL champions but don’t return a single starter.

In Tuesday’s league-opening loss to Central Catholic, Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan started two freshmen and two sophomores.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Big (sp)Ender: Manteca guard shadows Lathrop phenom in tight VOL win."