Vander Veen has had to pick up the slack during a challenging pre-league schedule with two other third-year varsity guards on the mend from football injuries.

He was named to all-tournament teams the last two weekends, which includes a 40-point flurry.

On Saturday, the Knights (4-4) dropped a 62-50 decision to Beyer in the third-place game of Central Catholic’s Mark Gallo Invitational. They split their four games while facing some of the top teams in Modesto.

The 6-foot-3 Vander Veen averaged 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He flashed his all-around game in a 58-49 second-round win over Downey, registering 24 points, six assists and five rebounds.

He led Ripon Christian to a third-place finish in the Ron Peterson Tip Off Tournament the previous weekend. It was on Saturday, Dec. 6 that he had his career-best 40-point effort against River Islands.

The Knights won 72-56 in the third-place contest, as Vander Veen made six of 10 3-point attempts, while dishing out seven assists to go with four rebounds. It’s the most points scored by a Ripon Christian boys player in three decades.

For the tournament, he buried 13 3-pointers and averaged 27.3 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds.