Ceres High School's varsity boys basketball team finally won a game.
The Bulldogs snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday, Dec. 20 with a 51-40 win over Beyer in the opening round of the Ceres Holiday Tournament.
Ceres High placed third with a 1-2 record at the four-team event.
"To be honest, we've had a brutal preseason schedule," said Bulldogs head coach Brian de la Porte, whose team has lost nine of 10 games this year. "We've definitely taken our licks."
Binder Atwal was named to the Ceres all-tournament team. The senior guard averaged 21.3 points per game.
"There's not a lot of better players than him," de la Porte said. "He's only going to get better."
Atwal, the third-leading scorer on last year's Western Athletic Conference championship team, exploded for a career-high 33 points versus last-place Beyer.
Jose Nava had six points.
Caden Johnson and Jr. Garcia both scored four points.
Harman Chung and Haydon Turpin collected two points each.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 26-18 lead in the opening half.
"Our guys dug deep and pulled it out," de la Porte said.
Ceres High lost 68-50 to runner-up Pitman on Wednesday.
The Pride turned the game into a blowout in the second half.
Pitman's lead ballooned to 15 in a matter of minutes.
"We lost our composure," de la Porte said.
Atwal tallied a team-high 16 points.
Johnson added seven points.
Chung, Jimbo Pernetti and Abel Reyes all scored six points.
Turpin totaled five points.
Nava and Abel Anaya chipped in with two points apiece.
Tournament-champion Modesto Christian topped Ceres High 81-45 on Thursday.
Binder scored 15 points.
Pernetti, Nava, Turpin, Reyes, Johnson and Chung had 10, six, five, four, three and two points, respectively.
"It's a learning experience," de la Porte said.
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-10 on the year.
Ceres High has faced a host of quality teams during the preseason, including Modesto Christian, Pitman, Sierra, Chavez, Folsom, Ponderosa and Woodcreek.
"This would have been a difficult schedule for last year's group," de la Porte said. "We're getting better. We have a lot of upside."
The Bulldogs will play in the Columbia tournament this week.
The Bulldogs snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday, Dec. 20 with a 51-40 win over Beyer in the opening round of the Ceres Holiday Tournament.
Ceres High placed third with a 1-2 record at the four-team event.
"To be honest, we've had a brutal preseason schedule," said Bulldogs head coach Brian de la Porte, whose team has lost nine of 10 games this year. "We've definitely taken our licks."
Binder Atwal was named to the Ceres all-tournament team. The senior guard averaged 21.3 points per game.
"There's not a lot of better players than him," de la Porte said. "He's only going to get better."
Atwal, the third-leading scorer on last year's Western Athletic Conference championship team, exploded for a career-high 33 points versus last-place Beyer.
Jose Nava had six points.
Caden Johnson and Jr. Garcia both scored four points.
Harman Chung and Haydon Turpin collected two points each.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 26-18 lead in the opening half.
"Our guys dug deep and pulled it out," de la Porte said.
Ceres High lost 68-50 to runner-up Pitman on Wednesday.
The Pride turned the game into a blowout in the second half.
Pitman's lead ballooned to 15 in a matter of minutes.
"We lost our composure," de la Porte said.
Atwal tallied a team-high 16 points.
Johnson added seven points.
Chung, Jimbo Pernetti and Abel Reyes all scored six points.
Turpin totaled five points.
Nava and Abel Anaya chipped in with two points apiece.
Tournament-champion Modesto Christian topped Ceres High 81-45 on Thursday.
Binder scored 15 points.
Pernetti, Nava, Turpin, Reyes, Johnson and Chung had 10, six, five, four, three and two points, respectively.
"It's a learning experience," de la Porte said.
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-10 on the year.
Ceres High has faced a host of quality teams during the preseason, including Modesto Christian, Pitman, Sierra, Chavez, Folsom, Ponderosa and Woodcreek.
"This would have been a difficult schedule for last year's group," de la Porte said. "We're getting better. We have a lot of upside."
The Bulldogs will play in the Columbia tournament this week.
