It was their best game of the year, Riverbank junior varsity boys' basketball coach Derrick Burnett said of his team in defeating Hughson 63-45 on Friday.

"We played aggressively on both sides of the ball and showed outstanding defense, especially after the first quarter," he added.

The Bruins shot ahead, 21-17, in the first quarter, led the second period 14-7 and the third 18-11 and tied the last 10-10.

Ray Baca was Riverbank's top scorer with 16 points while Andy Sesma scored 14 points, 12 of them in the first quarter

In the prior game against Hilmar on Tuesday, the Bruins lost by 40-32.

Riverbank lost the opening quarter, 15-5; and the second period, 8-5, before edging Hilmar, 11-10, in the third period; and 11-7 in the last quarter.

"We came out flat in the first half," said Burnett. "Our defense was OK, but we couldn't get our offense going."

Trailing 34-32 in the last quarter, the Bruins came within a few points of catching up but missed two or three easy buckets in the final moments.

Baca again led the Riverbank scoring with 16 points, followed by Nick Cota with seven points.