RIPON – Substitute early, substitute often.
Ripon coach Justin Graham had the chance to do so Wednesday night and did not pass on the opportunity, going to his bench by midway through the second quarter and rotating the rest of the way as the Indians pummeled visiting Hilmar 69-36 in Trans-Valley League boys basketball action.
“This was a good game for getting everybody in,” Ripon coach Justin Graham said. “We have guys that come to practice every day, they work their butts off and they don’t see the court. We got a pretty good lead and this was a great opportunity for them to go out there and their families got to see them play. They got some minutes – they’ve earned it.”
The Indians (6-1 TVL, 10-12 overall) jumped ahead 26-12 in the first quarter and then limited the Yellowjackets (1-6, 8-15) to three free throws in the second period for a 46-15 halftime lead.
In limited action, Nolan Young and Bronson Burrow spearheaded the relentless Ripon attack.
“Nolan (Young) is so good at following his shots to get the rebounds,” Graham said. “He is a double-double guy every night and his activity in our press has been fantastic. He’s long, athletic and quick. He’s a three-sport athlete and that’s what he does.
“Most teams we play don’t have the same size as us and we count on Bronson (Burrow) to be like Nolan, a double-double machine. We count on him scoring 10-20 points and getting 20 rebounds every night.”
Young was remarkable on defense, making five of his eight steals in the first quarter. He just missed a triple-double with 19 points and nine rebounds to go with those eight steals.
“We have a thing called `eagle’,” Young said. “It gives me an opportunity to make steals.
“The balls came my way and I got them.”
Bronson got all of his 14 points in the first half, adding seven rebounds, a block and a steal.
“The game plan going into every game is to pressure them,” Burrow said. “We know if we can run the ball we can get a lot of open looks.”
Eight other Indians scored with Logan Gillespie adding 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block. Ripon dominated the defensive game as well, forcing 24 turnovers behind 20 steals and winning the battle of the boards by better than a 2-1 advantage, 47-20.
Luke Lopes led Hilmar with 14 points.
The Indians travel to Riverbank on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
