Ceres High’s varsity boys basketball team has won its last four games.
“We’re playing well right now,” head coach T.J. Walker Jr. said. “Consistency has been the big thing. Guys know their roles.”
The Bulldogs beat the Grace Davis Spartans for the second time this season on Feb. 1.
Ceres High topped Grace Davis 55-36 on Senior Night at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Upperclassmen Elijah Hughes, Christian Murry, Brock DeWitt, Brock Moore and Enrique Granados were named starters for their final home game.
“I usually don’t do that,” Walker said. “But the team talked as a group and wanted the seniors to start. Four of those players (Murry, Hughes, DeWitt and Moore) have been with me for two seasons. They laid the foundation for the next group coming up. Enrique didn’t get on the floor too often. But he got better every day.”
Ceres High improved to 12-12 overall and took over sole possession of fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings (5-7).
The last-place Spartans dropped to 3-21 and 1-11.
The top three teams in the WAC qualify for the playoffs.
Mountain House (12-0) and Beyer (10-2) have already locked up the top two spots.
Los Banos (7-5) and Pacheco (7-5) are battling for the final berth.
“We don’t have a chance for the third spot,” he said. “We’ll have two opportunities to play spoiler.”
Murry tallied 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and two rebounds versus Grace Davis.
Hughes had 13 points and eight rebounds.
DeWitt had five points.
Moore had three points and four rebounds.
Granados had two assists.
Josh Pernetti scored six points and grabbed three rebounds.
Derrick O’Neal and Malakhi Shimon both contributed four points.
Verlis Smith and Gurbrinder Singh added two points each.
Ceres High routed visiting Pacheco 50-35 on Jan. 30.
Hughes had 16 points, four rebounds and two steals to lead the Bulldogs.
Murry chipped in with eight points, four rebounds, four steals and one assist.
DeWitt tallied three points, two rebounds and one steal.
O’Neal added 11 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds.
Ceres High will close out the regular season on the road this week with league games against Mountain House and Los Banos.
“We’ll try to finish the year out strong,” Walker said.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ceres High’s varsity girls basketball team earned a Western Athletic Conference series sweep of both Grace Davis and Pacheco last week.
The Bulldogs won the pair of games by a combined 46 points. “Overall, it was a good team effort,” head coach Mike Estrada Jr. said. “Everybody contributed in different ways.”
Ceres High improved to 8-15 on the season and 4-8 in the WAC standings following Thursday’s 51-28 pounding of visiting Grace Davis at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement,” Estrada said. “A lot of the girls have gained confidence. That’s big for us moving forward.”
The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures against the last-place Spartans (1-11).
Sophomore Lysaida Munoz collected 16 points, eight rebounds and one steal.
Camryn Silva added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Freshman Celeste Leon had 10 points, nine steals, four rebounds and one assist.
Freshman Mia Rodriguez totaled 10 points, two rebounds, two steals and one rebound.
Courtney Ford had one point, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The Bulldogs topped the Spartans 54-32 on Jan. 10.
Ceres High rolled to a 46-23 win over Pacheco on Jan. 30 in Los Banos.
“We just had to go out and play our game,” Estrada said. “We controlled the pace. We took care of business.”
The Bulldogs defeated the sixth-place Panthers (1-10) 59-19 on Jan. 3.
Fifth-place Ceres High will close out the 2018-19 campaign against visiting Los Banos today at 7:15 p.m.
