Roundup: Downey and Gregori take over top spots in CCAL boys’ basketball with wins
The Downey High boys basketball team came into Friday’s road contest against Pitman needing a victory. Not only to help its push to secure a spot in the playoffs, but to regain its confidence.
Head coach Mitchell Evans said his team knew this game was important, especially after their 82-59 loss to Gregori earlier in the week.
After a slow start, the Knights found their stride. They used a four-minute run stretching from the end of the first quarter through the middle of the second to propel them to a 56-52 win.
“We knew every game is a playoff game, basically, just to even get into playoffs,” Evans said. “They all matter so much.”
Pitman looked like it would dominate early. The Pride scored on their first three possessions and opened up a 12-6 first quarter lead.
With about a minute left in the opening period, Downey tied the game at 14 and over the rest of the first and nearly four minutes into the second quarter, the Knights went on a 12-0 run to give them a 26-14 lead with four minutes left in the half.
“They (Pitman) hit a couple of threes early and the crowd was was roaring so that that that run was really big for them to respond,” said Evans. “These guys really battle a lot so just been able to weather the storm a little bit, regroup then go on a run to give us a little bit more breathing room was really big.”
The biggest contributor to that large run was the Knights’ defense. They came into the game the smaller team, which meant they had to force the Pride to play out of their comfort zone, pressing, trapping when the opportunity presented itself and speeding up the Pitman offense.
“We work on that (defense) a lot,” said junior Lloyd French. “That pressure speeds them up and we can create a lot of turnovers.”
The Knights took a 10-point lead into halftime that was cut to three by the end of the third. The Pride found themselves trailing 52-50 with 1:28 left but that’s as close as they would get.
Trailing by two points after a made layup, Pitman attempted to call a timeout that it didn’t have. That resulted in a technical foul that sent French to the free throw line to put a cap on his team-high 20-point performance and ice the game.
With the win, Downey jumped from the Central California Athletic League’s fourth place team, and out of the playoffs, to second.
They also got some help.
Gregori beat Turlock, 71-60. Going into Friday, Pitman and Turlock were tied for the top spot in the CCAL, both boasting 4-1 league records. Friday’s results drops Pitman to third place and Turlock, who had spent most of the season at the top of the league, to fourth.
The Knights will have to face the Pride one more time in what could be their biggest game of the year.
“We play them again our last game so we just got to keep moving forward.” French said.
Modesto Christian 76, Tracy 56: The Crusaders remain unbeaten in Tri-City Athletic League play with the win over the Bulldogs. MC has won five straight games.
Gregori 71, Turlock 60: The Jaguars beat Turlock on the road to seal their fifth league win of the season. The Bulldogs went into Friday’s game tied with Pitman for first place. Kyle Monk led Gregori with 33 points and 13 rebounds. Kobe Nunes added 22 points. Daniel Malagon led Turlock with 20 points. With the win, Gregori takes over first place in the CCAL.
Orestimba 82, Waterford 32: The Warriors jumped out to a 26-9 lead after the first quarter and rode that to victory. Despite the loss, Matthew Brinkman scored 18 points for Waterford. Orestimba moves to 3-3 in Southern League play while Waterford falls to 0-9.
Ripon Christian 61, Riverbank 48: The Knights remain undefeated in league play after picking up their 10th win. Griffin de Abreu had a team-high 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Livingston 67, Hilmar 61: The Yellowjackets were unable to pick up their third win of the season. Ty Salvador and Luke Lopes led Hilmar with 21 and 18 points, respectively.
Escalon 72, Hughson 51: The Cougars bounced back from Thursday’s close loss to Livingston with a win over the Huskies. They will finish the season with their second league matchups against the Wolves and Hilmar next week.
Patterson 69, Buhach Colony 59: The Tigers scored 24 points in the second quarter to break the game open. The Thunder tried to mount a comeback, but fell short. Patterson will need to perform well in its final games in order to make the playoffs.
Golden Valley 61, Central Valley 59: The Hawks fell in a nail-biter to the Cougars, giving them their eighth straight loss. They have a quick turnaround and play Merced Saturday at 3 p.m.
Ceres 68, Los Banos 64: The Bulldogs won a close contest Friday night to extend thier winning streak to five games. They are third in the Western Athletic Conference at 9-3.
Central Catholic 70, Kimball 61: The Raiders scored 20 or more points in three quarters en route to their sixth Valley Oak League win. They are third place in the VOL with three games left.
Lathrop 73, Johansen 60: The Spartans scored 21 and 20 points in the first and third quarters respectively, handing the Vikings their fifth straight loss.
Venture Academy 87, Big Valley Christian 45: The Lions dropped their eighth straight on Friday night. They finish the season against Elliot Christian and Turlock Christian.
Girls Basketball
Big Valley Christian 33, Venture Academy 28: The Lions led 17-9 at halftime and used that lead to pick up their fourth league win of the season. They are third in the Central California Athletic Alliance.
Orestimba 71, Waterford 19: The Warriors won their ninth straight game Friday night. They were led by Cierra Thibodeau, who scored a team-high 27 points and added eight rebounds and three steals. Orestimba remains undefeated in league.
Riverbank 56, Ripon Christian 36: The Bruins swept the season series with the Knights on Saturday night. They are fourth in the Trans-Valley League with a 6-4 record.
Escalon 51, Hughson 35: The Cougars clinched their first TVL title since 1999 with Friday night’s win. They take a 9-2 league record into their final game against Hilmar on Tuesday.
Boys Soccer
Livingston 6, Hilmar 0: Five Wolves scored as Livingston won big on Friday. Livingston is comfortably in first place in the TVL, at 9-0-1. The Yellowjackets are 3-7 in league.
Orestimba 8, Waterford 0: The Wildcats were unable to string two wins together after Friday’s loss. They are 3-7-2 in Southern League play.
Escalon 2, Riverbank 2: The matchup between the TVL’s second- and fourth-place teams ended in a draw. Andy Alpizar and Miguel Granados scored the Cougars’ goals.
Patterson 2, Central Valley 1: Senior Antonio Gallegos scored both of the Tigers’ goals in their 12th straight win. They are undefeated in league and 17-0-1 overall.
Girls Soccer
Ripon Christian 4, Le Grand 0: Addison DeJong continued her stellar freshman season for the Southern League’s best team. The Knights are 10-0-2 in league and play their final game against Le Grand on Monday.
Riverbank 2, Escalon 0: The Bruins can rest easily knowing they control third place in the TVL after Friday’s win. They end their season with a 6-13-2 overall record and 4-6 league record.
Patterson 9, Central Valley 0: Arionna Imhoff scored five goals and Matty Tomasegovich added three as the Tigers won their eighth Central California Conference game.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 9:31 AM.
