Ceres High sophomore boys basketball coach Jim Pernetti ripped into his team after calling a timeout in the first quarter against upset-minded Central Valley.

"They came out ready to play," he said. "We didn't. I was worried."

Down by eight points, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Hawks in the second and third quarters on their way to a 54-36 road win on Friday.

First-place Ceres High moved to 6-1 in the Valley Oak League.

Central Valley fell to 2-5 in the conference standings.

Beau Pimentel led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Ruminder Dhillon, Edgar Lopez and Tyler Cummings collected 11, nine and eight points, respectively. George Borden and John Dhillon both scored three points. Tyler Brenning contributed two points. Chris Hilgen added one point.

Nate Villegas led the Hawks with 11 points. Hector Jacobo and Ryan Sander collected eight points apiece. Tyree Jones scored four points. David Griffin and Heath Sousa had two points each. David Dart tallied one point.

"It's a great feeling beating our rival at their house," Pimentel said.

Ceres High trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs seized control with a 41-9 outburst over the second and third quarters.

"We didn't panic," Pernetti said. "We stayed with it."