The Lathrop High boys varsity soccer coach Alfredo Reynaga has his team looking at each game as must-wins.

On Thursday, his Spartans used that for motivation in defeating Grace Davis in Western Athletic Conference play, 3-1.

“We had a lot of opportunities out there,” Reynaga said of the match played a Bennie Gatto Field.

Lathrop (1-0-1 WAC, 4-3-3) controlled the tempo early on with Angel Barajas giving his team a 1-0 lead. Carlos Santos was credited with the assist.

The score stayed that way until the second half.

Adrian Montanez converted a penalty kick in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving the Spartans a 2-0 advantage.

The clincher was an outside-the-box goal by Juan Morales – with an assist from Alan Hernandez – giving Lathrop some added insurance.

With the win, Lathrop is in third place – behind co-leaders Livingston and Central Valley – in the WAC entering the winter break. Grace Davis dropped to 0-2 in league, 6-7-1 overall.

Sierra 4, Oakdale 0

The Timberwolves got goals from Preston Gallegos, Alejandro Sanchez, Ayden Acka, and Johan Arroyo in the Valley Oak League opener against Oakdale at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.

Needy Ramos, Mathew Valdez, and Sanchez were credited with assists.

Sierra (2-0 VOL, 8-1) returns to action on Jan. 7 at East Union.

JV boys soccer

Lathrop 2, Grace Davis 1

Goals by AJ Garrido and Victor Saldivar gave the Spartans a WAC win over visiting Grace Davis on Thursday.

Boys basketball

Placer 80, Ripon 62 The Indians (3-6) opened with a loss to the Hillmen (8-2) in the Argonaut Tournament on Thursday. Ripon trailed 47-33 at halftime, and 65-53 after the third quarter