Gregori and Escalon girls, Beyer and Central Catholic boys earn wins in December tourneys
It’s the start of basketball holiday tournament season across the Sac-Joaquin Section and some Stanislaus District high school boys and girls teams traveled to face out-of-section competition while others hosted events at their home court.
Gregori’s third annual Battle of the Hardwood girls basketball tournament kicked off Thursday. The three-day event features Enochs, Mountain House, Escalon, Manteca, Gregori and Ripon Christian. The tournament runs through Saturday, with Friday games starting at 3 p.m. and a championship contest Saturday at 5 p.m.
On the boys side, one of the many tournaments featuring Stanislaus District teams is the Mark Gallo Invitational at Central Catholic. The tournament started Tuesday afternoon and runs through Saturday. Each team played two pool play games in three days before seeding games Friday and the 11th, ninth, seventh, fifth, third and championship games Saturday.
Tournaments always are good ways for teams to measure their skills against teams they do not face on a regular basis while also testing mental and physical toughness as many times, they play a number of games in a short period of time.
Other teams played regular nonleague contests, working out the kinks and gaining chemistry before league play starts in the new year.
Here is how Stanislaus District teams did Thursday evening on the hardwood.
Girls Basketball
Bear River 53, Ripon 40: Ripon dropped its second straight contest Thursday as part of the varsity tournament at Liberty Ranch High. Ripon finishes out the tournament this week before facing Enochs Dec. 16.
Davis 53, Central Catholic 38: Davis won its seventh straight game to start the season behind a balanced scoring effort. The Spartans are 7-0 on the season, its best start in 20 years. For Central Catholic, Mia Cardoza scored a team-high 14 points and Carsyn Lomeli-Garcia and Macie Wright added eight points apiece.
Oakdale 30, Rio Americano 28: Oakdale moved to 5-5 overall this season with a win in the Stevenson Tournament, edging out Rio Americano. The Mustangs finish out the tournament with matchups against Stevenson and Gilroy.
Hughson 41, Johansen 32: Hughson earned its first win of the season Thursday in a nonleague road contest against Johansen. Johansen is 2-3 in its last five games and will get nearly two weeks to reset before taking on Modesto in the opening game of the its tournament.
Patterson 53, Tracy 35: Kailani Ortiz scored 19 points and added five steals to lead Patterson to a win. Nevaeh Goins added 13 points and six steals and Takhiya Hardin had 12 points and four steals. Alyse Lomeli nearly notched a triple double, tallying seven points, nine rebounds and 10 steals. Patterson earned its sixth straight win and moved to 7-1 on the season.
Battle of the Hardwood at Gregori High
Mountain House 48, Enochs 21: The Eagles got out to a slow start and trailed Mountain House 15-6 after the first quarter and 21-11 at halftime. The Eagles were outscored 27-10 in the second half. Enochs fell to 2-6 on the season and will play Manteca in the next round of the tournament.
Escalon 61, Manteca 22: Escalon advanced to play Mountain House in the next round of the Battle of the Hardwood tournament at Gregori High on Thursday with a dominant win over Manteca. The Cougars move to 3-3 with the win. University of Arizona softball commit Madi Babasa scored 16 points with three 3’s in three quarters. Arianna Velasco added 15 points.
Beyer 42, Modesto 37: The Patriots nearly blew a double digit lead after the third quarter, but a putback layup by leading scorer Kylie Kulina helped Beyer secure its fifth win this season. Kulina, a senior, posted 13 points and sophomore Caliray Lopez-Murillo added 12.
Gregori 48, Ripon Christian 31: Freshman Gia Brown scored a game-high 17 points in three quarters to lead Gregori to victory as the host school in the Battle of the Hardwood. Junior Alanah Lopez added 13 points, catching fire in the fourth quarter with three 3’s to help the Jaguars break the game open.
Boys Basketball
Ripon 56, Kimball 45: Ripon won the tightly contested matchup against the Jaguars in the West High tournament Thursday evening. Marcus Madoski had a 26-point, 16-rebound double double with three blocks. Logan Lefebvre added to points. It is Ripon’s second straight win after dropping its first four games.
East Union 55, Escalon 46/OT: Escalon played in its third straight overtime game Thursday, taking on East Union at home in a nonleague contest. After the two sides finished tied at 44 in regulation, East Union outscored the Cougars 11-2 in overtime.
Oakdale 57, Rio Americano 54: The Mustangs upset Rio Americano — the No. 11 team in the section, according to MaxPreps — at a tournament at Stevenson High in Pebble Beach. Oakdale plays Stevenson and Templeton in the final two games of the tournament.
Pitman 70, Granite Bay 65: Pitman bounced back from Wednesday’s loss to Monterey Trail with a win in the Clovis West Invitational Thursday against Granite Bay. The Pride compete in the Fresno-based tournament through Saturday.
Enochs 60, College Park 48: Enochs remained undefeated on the season, earning its seventh win this season as a participant in the Liberty Tournament. The Eagles were able to overcome a career night for College Park freshman Miles Cooper, who put up 29 points with five made threes.
Mark Gallo Invitational at Central Catholic High
Gregori 68, Ripon Christian 46: Gregori advanced to 2-0 in the Mark Gallo Invitational with a win Thursday. The win puts the Jaguars in good position to compete for the tournament championship Saturday. Gregori, after Thursday’s win, has seven victories early in the season. Amos Cady (16 points), Mason Tameling (12) and Chase Bunnell (10) each scored in double figures for Ripon Christian.
Central Catholic 68, Sonora 34: Central Catholic secured its second blowout win as the tournament’s host school, beating Sonora. The Raiders entered the tournament winless after competing in a tough tournament in Santa Cruz. After their first two tournament games, they improve to 2-4.
Beyer 51, Manteca 43: Beyer remained undefeated, picking up its seventh win Thursday. With the win, the Patriots also moved to 2-0 in tournament pool play. The Patriots finish out tournament play Friday and Saturday.
Atwater 57, Burbank 48: Atwater remained perfect at the Mark Gallo Invitational, winning its second game of the tournament. Michael Butcher scored a team-high 18 points and Julian James-Jardines added 15 for Burbank, but the team fell short.
