Despite a poor shooting night, Sierra gave much-favored Central Catholic all it could handle in a Valley Oak League showdown on Friday.
Led by standout point guard Joshua Hamilton’s 24 points, the visiting Raiders eked out a 60-52 victory. Hamilton came through with a big 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes remaining, extending Central’s lead to six.
“We shot the ball terrible,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “We couldn’t score inside or outside and we had so many open shots. We played hard, just couldn’t make a shot. If we shot the ball better I think it would have been a different game.”
The Timberwolves (1-1, 6-9 overall) led 11-8 after the first quarters, but their shooting woes continued until the fourth. Meanwhile, Central Catholic (2-0, 13-2) surged ahead 43-32 with 19- and 16-point second and third quarters.
Sophomore guard Dayton Magana complemented Hamilton with 18 points, draining eight 3s. Jaime Ochoa paced Sierra with 23 points, and John Elijah contributed 12.

Manteca 65, Kimball 57
Jorge Cedano busted out for 29 points, while sophomore forward Jordan Burciaga posted 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Buffaloes (1-1, 5-10) fended off visiting Kimball (1-1, 8-7).
Matthew Ender contributed four points, five assists and seven rebounds. Kai Ballungay fired 23 points for Kimball.

Weston Ranch 74,
Oakdale 38
OAKDALE — Weston Ranch (2-0, 10-3) broke it open with a 20-6 first-quarter run and coasted from there.
Devin Small led four Cougars in double figures with 16 points and four steals. Charles Jemison, Donjae Lindsey and Antwann Taylor (six rebounds) each had 10 points. Raul Melgarejo set the tone defensively.

Riverbank 67,
 Ripon Christian 56
RIVERBANK — Andrew Vander Weide had his way in the post, but it wasn’t enough for the Knights (1-1 Trans-Valley League, 9-6 overall) to overcome the hot shooting of Riverbank (2-0, 6-10).
Beto Jimenez splashed down five 3s on his way to 19 points for the Bruins, and Robert Cunha helped out with 16. Vander Weide led Ripon Christian with 23 points, while Braden Van Groningen finished with 14.

Freshman
Manteca 50, Kimball 40
Mike Arriola tallied 12 points, Nick Bell added 10 and Karson Condit eight as the Buffaloes improved to 2-0 in the VOL.