MJC men, women split Big 8 conference games
Donte Walker scored a game-high 30 points as the Modesto Junior College men’s basketball team held off Sierra 78-73 Saturday afternoon in a Big 8 Conference doubleheader at the MJC gymnasium.
In the first game of the afternoon, Modesto’s women’s team fell 102-61 to undefeated Sierra, the No. 1 team in the state.
The Pirates (10-6, 3-1 Big 8) jumped out to an early lead on the Wolverines (8-8, 3-2) in the men’s game and led by double digits for most of the contest. But Sierra trimmed the lead to three with about 3 minutes to play. Anthony Lewis (12 points) came though with a crucial rebound and put-back with 1:50 to play that made the lead 74-67. From there, the Wolverines went into foul mode and began sending MJC players to the free-throw line, where the Pirates were 4-for-4 in the final 32 seconds.
In the women’s contest, the Pirates (7-7, 0-4) were within five points of the state’s top-ranked team in the first half until point guard Vai Fesili went down with a twisted ankle in the second quarter. Without her calming influence on the court, the Wolverines (17-0, 5-0) began to pull away and turned the game into a rout.
Akaysha Simpkins stepped up with 20 points while Shaylen Craven chipped in with 16 and Mikaela Jimenez added 10. Bri Moore led Sierra wit 46 points, with 20 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates will see action again on Tuesday when they travel to take on Santa Rosa Junior College in a league matchup. Modesto will return home Thursday to face American River College.
CSUS Men’s basketball
Cal State East Bay 72, Stanislaus State 63, at Hayward – The Warriors hit just 32.1 percent of their shots (18 for 56) and were a frosty 19 percent from 3-point range (4 of 21) in a California Collegiate Athletic Association loss. Stanislaus State led by as many as six point in the first half and the game was knotted at 29 at the break. But in the second half, the Warriors (10-6, 6-5 CCAA) hit just 6 of 22 shots (27.3 percent) while Cal State East Bay (8-8, 4-6) hit on 50 percent of its shots after intermission. Ty Davis led CSUS with 15 points, while Caleb Baskett added 12 and Kyle Gouveia contributed 11. Andy Cleaves chipped in with 10. Davis, Baskett and Cleaves each had seven rebounds.
The Warriors will see action again on Tuesday when they host Holy Names University at Fitzpatrick Arena.
CSUS Women’s basketball
Cal State East Bay 73, Stanislaus State 71,at Hayward – Elayshia Woolridge’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted the Pioneers to a California Collegiate Athletic Association victory over the Warriors on Saturday.
Cal State East Bay improves to 10-6 overall and 6-4 in conference action and is 5-0 at home.
Lizzy Alexander, 6-foot sophomore forward out of Weston Ranch High School in Stockton, led all scorers with 27 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Alexander also pulled down seven rebounds, all of them coming on the defensive end.
The loss is the third straight for the Warriors (6-10, 3-7).
This story was originally published January 7, 2018 at 3:18 PM with the headline "MJC men, women split Big 8 conference games."