Ceres High’s varsity boys basketball team had its homecoming spoiled by Lathrop last week.
The Bulldogs sustained a 57-52 loss while battling the Spartans Friday night in front of an energized crowd at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Ceres High also failed in its bid at redemption as Lathrop prevailed once again.
The Spartans edged the Bulldogs by four points, 61-57, on Dec. 11.
"We were so close to winning. We might have pulled it out if we did the little things right. Our turnovers killed us.”Christian Murry
“There was a lot of energy going into the game,” Ceres High senior guard Christian Murry said. “It was our largest crowd of the year. We were so close to winning. We might have pulled it out if we did the little things right. Our turnovers killed us.”
Murry was relegated to the bench for the remainder of the contest after picking up his fifth foul late in the third quarter.
“There was a lot of frustration in the locker room after the game,” Murry said. “We wanted to win so badly, especially the seniors. It was our last homecoming game.”
Murry tallied six points, one assist and one steal.
Elijah Hughes had 13 points, eight rebounds and one steal.
Gurbrinder Singh had 10 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Derrick O’Neal had seven points, four steals, one rebound and one assist.
Brock DeWitt had five points, two steals, one rebound and one assist.
Verlis Smith had four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Brock Moore had two points and one rebound.
The Bulldogs shot 55 percent (11 of 20) from the free-throw line.
Sixth-place Ceres High dropped to 8-10 overall and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
The Bulldogs suffered their third straight loss.
Third-place Lathrop improved to 13-8 and 5-3.
The Spartans ended a three-game losing streak.
“Our team is way better than what our record shows,” Murry said.
The top three teams in the WAC qualify for playoffs.
“We have no room for error,” Murry said. “We just have to win out and get help. I have a lot of faith in my team.”
The Bulldogs have six games remaining on their schedule.
“There are more game out there to win,” Murry said. “We need to cut down our turnovers, play with energy, capitalize on teams’ mistakes and see where that takes us.”
Ceres High’s next two league games are on the road.
The Bulldogs will play at second-place Beyer (15-7, 7-1) today and last-place Grace Davis (3-17, 1-7) on Friday.
Both games will get underway at 7:15 p.m.
