Two days removed from suffering a 13-point loss at Grace Davis, Central Valley’s boys basketball team bounced back on Friday as it held on for a 58-53 home victory against Pacheco.

“We got off to a good start,” head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “We were up by as much as 18 points in the first half. We didn’t play as well in the second half. They chipped away. We were able to escape with a five-point win.”

The Hawks improved to 12-11 overall and remained in third place in the WAC standings with a 6-3 record.

The last-place Panthers dropped to 5-11 overall and 1-8 in league play.

Central Valley is battling for one of the WAC’s three playoff spots.

The Hawks made their last postseason appearance during the 2016-17 season.

“We’re in a good spot,” Rodriguez stated. “It’s an improvement from the past few years. We control our own destiny. We’re going to have to win five of our last five games to get into playoffs.”

Central Valley’s Emmanuel Carranza tallied 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals against Pacheco.

Jace Mclennon added 19 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Andre Flores had nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Central Valley lost 65-52 at Grace Davis on Wednesday.

“It’s a tough matchup for us,” Rodriguez said. “They got a big front line. We sagged and tried to take away the paint. They had a couple guys step up and hit some 3s. They got hot.”

Mclennon led Central Valley with 21 points, three rebounds and one steal.

David Gutierrez added 11 points and one steal.

Split for Dawgs

Ceres High’s boys basketball team battled Johansen and Livingston last week.

The sixth-place Bulldogs dropped to 8-15 overall and 3-6 in the Western Athletic Conference standings after losing 71-64 to the third-place Vikings on Friday in Modesto.

Johansen improved to 16-7 and 6-3.

Manuel Ortega led Ceres High with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Jaylen Pettigrew had 12 points, two rebounds and one assist.

Anthony Estrada had eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Ceres High edged last-place Livingston by just four points, 69-64, on Jan. 29 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

Ortega filled the stat sheet with 33 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and one block.

Cashton Almeida added 10 points and five rebounds.

Pettigrew had 10 points and two rebounds.

GIRLS HOOPS

Ceres High’s third-place girls basketball team didn’t lose any ground in the Western Athletic Conference standings this past week.

Central Valley remained in seventh place.

The Bulldogs improved to 18-5 overall and 7-2 in the WAC after routing Johansen 44-19 on Jan. 30 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

Ceres High notched its fifth straight victory.

Arrayah Stallworth led the Bulldogs with 16 points, 15 rebounds, nine steals, five blocks and two assists.

Lilly Staggs tallied 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Ceres High exacted revenge with a 50-38 win at Livingston on Jan. 28.

The Wolves won the first league meeting, 35-31, on Jan. 26.

Staggs totaled 20 points, three steals and one block versus Livingston last week.

Mariah Renteria had seven points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Central Valley struggled against Pacheco and showed improvement versus Grace Davis.

Central Valley dropped to 7-16 overall and 1-8 in WAC play after losing 54-15 to second-place Pacheco on Jan. 30 in Los Banos.

Seventh-place Central Valley suffered a 44-42 loss while battling first-place Grace Davis on Jan. 28 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

The Spartans dominated the first meeting, 62-26, on Jan. 6 in Modesto.