Ripon Christian steamrolled to another boys basketball championship in the Trans-Valley League and extended its remarkable run to the California Interscholastic Federation Division V Northern Regional final.
The Knights’ dominance was reflected in the all-league voting, as Eli Terpsma repeated as MVP. Jace Beidleman, Luke Crivello and Justin Hofman also
Ripon Christian girls standout Maddie Yonker also earned an all-league spot. Kailee Inderbitzin, Makenzie Loechler, Marcus Madoski and Landon Gillespie represent Ripon on the All-TVL girls and boys teams.
Terpsma spearheaded the Ripon Christian boys’ undefeated march through league, averaging 21.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game while knocking down 55.7% of his field-goal attempts.
The 6-foot-4 guard had a stretch of five league games in which he scored at least 23 points. The Knights (12-0 TVL, 26-8 overall) won league games by an average margin of 23 points.
Even with that dominance, Ripon Christian did have a few challenging moments, such as their second-half comebacks against rivals Escalon and Ripon.
“When you’re in first place in league and the team to catch, opponents are going to give you their best shot every night,” Mark Hofman said. “There will be games where you get down, you just gotta stick with the game plan and continue to use your system and for us, a lot of it centered on Eli.
“Teams guarded him differently, and he adjusts how he’s going to score. And if it’s not open for him, Eli has good team concepts and understands that his gravity opens up (scoring opportunities) for his teammates.”
Crivello was one of those teammates who benefitted from the attention Terpsma drew. The junior shooting guard was RC’s second-leading scorer in league with 12.2 points per game.
Justin Hofman was an important all-around contributor from the point guard position, averaging 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and a team-high 1.6 blocks and 37.1% 3-point percentage. The 6-7 Beidelman produced 8.8 points and 11.8 rebounds.
Senior wings Trey Fasani and Derek Van Elderen earned honorable mention.
Third-place Ripon (7-5, 10-19) has two all-leaguers in junior guard Landon Gillespie and sophomore forward Marcus Madoski.
The 6-4 Madoski shined in his first varsity season, leading the Indians with league averages of 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.8 blocks. Gillespie contributed 10.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Junior forward Ty Herrin made honorable mention.
Jackson Anderson of runner-up Escalon (8-4, 18-11) was named Most Outstanding Player.
For Ripon (5-7, 11-16), Inderbizin and Loechler filled multiple roles to earn their All-TVL recognition. Inderbitzin played point guard and the wing spots, tallying 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks while hitting 33% of her 3-pointers. Loechler, a fourth-year varsity guard/forward, chipped in 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds. Getting honorable mention was third-year center Gabby Delgado.
Junior guard Yonker is the lone all-league girls selection for Ripon Christian (2-10, 11-15), making the cut for a second straight year after averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.8 blocks.
