Winless through its first two games in Western Athletic Conference play, Central Valley's varsity boys basketball team broke into the victory column this past week.

The Hawks defeated the Pacheco Panthers 65-48 on Wednesday in Ceres.

"Overall, we were the better team even though we both didn't have a win going into the game," head coach Mike Rodriguez said. "We played decent, finally hit some shots. I still don't think we shot as well as we should have."

Central Valley's Max Sanchez drained six treys and totaled 22 points.

Daniel Villasenor, Hanson Hy and David Serrano scored 14, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Grant Neang collected six points.

Tony Gaut added two points.

The Hawks forced 22 turnovers.

"We got some steals and easy buckets," Rodriguez said.

Pacheco's bid for a comeback win fell short.

The Panthers cut a 16-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter.

Central Valley lost 71-40 at 2017 WAC-champion Patterson Friday night

"It was a long night," Rodriguez said. "We were tentative at the start of the game. We just couldn't get anything going."

Serrano scored a team-high 16 points versus the Panthers.

Villasenor tallied 11 points.

Sanchez and Neang contributed six points each.

Gaut had one point.

The Hawks fell behind 39-15 in the opening half.

Central Valley dropped to 7-14 overall and 1-3 in the WAC standings.

"We haven't played anybody we can't beat," Rodriguez said. "We've been in every game."

The Hawks' next five conference games are on the road.

Central Valley will face Ceres High today and Livingston on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

"Being 1-3, we've put ourselves in a tough position," Rodriguez said. "But they're all winnable games. I'm hoping we can put together a complete game soon."

Central Valley lost three times to crosstown-rival Ceres High last winter.

"We've played similar opponents and the scores have been similar," Rodriguez said. "I expect it to be close."