Ceres High’s varsity boys basketball team dropped to 1-1 on the year following last week’s loss to East Union.

The Lancers escaped with a 55-49 victory over the host Bulldogs in non-conference play on Nov. 27 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

“Obviously, you always want to win,” Ceres High head coach T.J. Walker said. “But it’s early in the year. We’re definitely going to improve.”

Christian Murry poured in a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs.

He made three of five 3-pointers.

Murry also tallied four rebounds and four steals.

Josh Pernetti had nine points and two rebounds.

Elijah Hughes had eight points and seven rebounds.

Verlis Smith had four points, four rebounds and one assist.

Brock Dewitt had three points and one rebound.

Brock Moore had two points and six rebounds.

Malakhi Shimon had two points, one rebound and one assist.

Ceres High shot 77 percent (17 of 22) from the free-throw line for the game.

The Bulldogs missed 15 of 20 3-pointers.

Ceres High also committed 20 turnovers.

“We didn’t close out the game,” Walker said. “We turned the ball over seven out of our last 10 possessions. We’re better ball handlers and passers than that. We still had plenty of opportunities.”

Ceres High sophomore point guard Derrick O’Neal did not play against the Lancers for an undisclosed reason.

“He calms everybody down,” Walker said while talking about O’Neal’s importance to the team. “We still should have won.”

Ceres High will play at crosstown-rival Central Valley today at 7:15 p.m.

The Bulldogs and Hawks are no longer in the same conference due to the Sac-Joaquin Section’s league alignment plan.

“We still want to keep the rivalry going,” Walker said. “Records go out the window in those games. Both teams will be ready to go to war.”