Basketball Recap: Ceres Continues Home Dominance on Monday

Lathrop came into Monday's contest looking for another win against Ceres, but Manuel Ortega wouldn't allow it. The Ceres Bulldogs narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Lathrop Spartans 69-67 thanks in part to Ortega, who dropped a double-double on 38 points and 14 rebounds. That's the most points he has posted since back in January of 2024.

Ceres pushed their record up to 9-15 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points per game. As for Lathrop, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-15 record this season.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Ceres will square off against Pacheco at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ceres has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 202 points over their last three matchups. As for Lathrop, they will challenge Johansen at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Johansen has three straight wins, Lathrop has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.