Central Valley High School’s boys basketball team placed fifth in the Central California Conference standings with a 2-10 mark this winter.

The Hawks had a combined record of 0-24 versus CCC competition the previous two seasons.

“I would have definitely liked to have seen some more wins,” head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “There was some improvement. I thought we were competitive. We lost some games we could have won.”

Central Valley dropped a pair of games during the final week of the 2022-23 season.

Central Valley lost 102-88 at Patterson on Feb. 10.

The Hawks had a chance to spoil Patterson’s Senior Night and Homecoming.

The game was tied at 79-all with four minutes to play.

“It was a fun environment to play in,” Rodriguez said. “We did what we wanted to do on offense. We shot the ball well and attacked the basket. We just gave up too many transition points and a lot of buckets inside.”

Patterson accounted for 21 of the game’s final 23 points to secure the victory.

“It snowballed at the end,” Rodriguez said. “We had some crucial turnovers down the stretch. They hit some threes.”

Jayson Casias led the Hawks with 27 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Gage Mastropierro had 24 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Jomari Ocasiones had 17 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal.

Cameron Bradshaw had six points, two assists, one rebound and one steal.

Jake Olson had four points, five rebounds, one block and one steal.

Alex Prado had two points and one assist.

Jagdeep Hundal had one point, one rebound and one steal.

Central Valley lost 60-36 to El Capitan on Senior Night in Merced on Feb. 8.

“We had too many turnovers,” Rodriguez said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well at all.”

“For whatever reason, we don’t play well against El Capitan,” he added.

Casias had 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one block.

Mastropierro had 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.

Bradshaw had five points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Hundal had four points, one rebound and one steal.

Andre Flores had two points and one steal.

Patterson and El Capitan both qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Central Valley posted an 8-20 overall record for the second year in a row.

The Hawks tied for fifth place with Buhach Colony and Merced in the CCC.

Central Valley collected wins against Buhach Colony, Ceres High, Escalon, Hughson, Johansen, Merced and Riverbank.

Central Valley topped Buhach Colony twice.

The Hawks will lose five players to graduation, including Casias, Mastropierro, Ocasiones, Olson and Jeremy Alvarez.

“They’re high-character kids,” Rodriguez said. “They had great attitudes. They were great teammates. They worked hard. They did whatever the coaches asked.”

Mastropierro, Casias, Olson and Ocasiones started this year.

Mastropierro, Casias and Ocasiones ranked first, second and third, respectively, in scoring on the team.

“We’re losing our top three scorers,” Rodriguez said.

The Hawks could return as many as seven players from this year’s team next season, including Bradshaw, Prado, Flores, Hundal, Mario Gonzalez, Andrew Ruiz and Jellmar Mata.

Central Valley has yet to experience a breakthrough season since moving to the CCC as part of Sac-Joaquin Section league realignment in 2018-19.

The Hawks have amassed an 8-40 record against CCC competition.