Cuesta men’s basketball advances to quarterfinals of Modesto Invitational

The Cuesta men’s basketball team defeated Lassen Community College 79-59 in the opening round of the 16-team Modesto Invitational on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Roberto Mantovani led the team in scoring with 18 points, and freshman Andres Aguado chipped in 15. Sophomore Ryan Hammink came off the bench and went 5-7 from the field for 11 points, and Rafail Eleftheriou added 10 points while leading the Cougars in rebounds with seven.

Cuesta shot 34 of 76 from the floor, or 45 percent, and was 10 of 25 from 3-point range. The Cougars also grabbed 38 rebounds and forced nine steals, while only giving up eight turnovers as a team.

With the win, Cuesta moves on to the quarterfinals Thursday against tournament host Modesto Community College at 6 p.m. The Cougars improved to 9-4 on the season.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Cuesta men’s basketball advances to quarterfinals of Modesto Invitational."