RIPON — Before and after powerhouse Modesto Christian was in the picture, Mariposa High had long been king of boys basketball in the Southern League.
Ripon Christian took notice of this when visiting the defending champion’s house on Jan. 28. The players saw the championship banners lining the walls and noticed an extended gap between titles.
“We asked why that was, and they said Ripon Christian came in and it was their league for 10 years,” said Ripon Christian’s Logan Vos.
The Knights have returned, much to the chagrin of Mariposa and the rest of the Southern League’s members. They assured themselves at least a share of the conference championship Tuesday with an entertaining 74-73 win over second-place Denair.
Ripon Christian has three chances to clinch the outright title, starting with Turlock Christian Friday back at home.
The row of pennants at Ripon Christian’s gym shows that it claimed 10 SL titles in 16 years. Ripon Christian (11-0, 19-5 overall) had since campaigned in the Trans Valley League, where it captured its last crown in 2001, until the 2009-10 season.
Vos had a career night Tuesday, helping RC overcome a poor start in which Denair (8-3, 16-8) led by as much as 10, 42-32, with 1:02 left in the second quarter. He finished with 36 points and hit eight of the Knights’ 12 3-pointers.
“He is just determined,” Ripon Christian head coach Ron Vander Molen said. “After we beat Le Grand (68-55 last Friday) I started talking about Denair, and he said ‘Coach, don’t worry about it.’
“He pretty much guaranteed it from within our locker room and backed it up.”
Vos was supported by younger brother Dan’s 13 points and six assists, and fellow senior Dylan Van Vliet’s 10 points and six rebounds. Isaac Norman provided some energy off the bench, adding five points and seven assists.
The win was RC’s third over Denair, with one of them coming in the consolation championship of Riverbank’s Ron Peterson Tipoff Classic. That was decided by a 63-44 margin.
Vander Molen was not surprised that the two league meetings — the other a 64-56 victory — were much closer.
“It’s hard to beat a team as good as Denair three times,” Vander Molen said.
The rematch on Tuesday was capped off fittingly by an exciting play — a halfcourt 3-pointer by Denair’s Juan De La Cruz, after Van Vliet all but sealed it by hitting one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining.
The final bucket, however, served as a painful reminder as to how Denair lost the game.
The Coyotes were 12-for-26 from the free-throw line and 5-for-14 in the fourth quarter, while Ripon Christian was 18-for-29 from the stripe.
“We had our opportunities in the fourth quarter,” Wooten said. “We had some of our best free-throw shooters on the line, but they were tired from scrambling all night and working hard.”
Denair had four players in double figures and were led by Colin Sosa’s 17 points. Colby Wooten added 15 points and six assists. Clayton McDonald and De La Cruz had 13 apiece.
Ripon Christian took notice of this when visiting the defending champion’s house on Jan. 28. The players saw the championship banners lining the walls and noticed an extended gap between titles.
“We asked why that was, and they said Ripon Christian came in and it was their league for 10 years,” said Ripon Christian’s Logan Vos.
The Knights have returned, much to the chagrin of Mariposa and the rest of the Southern League’s members. They assured themselves at least a share of the conference championship Tuesday with an entertaining 74-73 win over second-place Denair.
Ripon Christian has three chances to clinch the outright title, starting with Turlock Christian Friday back at home.
The row of pennants at Ripon Christian’s gym shows that it claimed 10 SL titles in 16 years. Ripon Christian (11-0, 19-5 overall) had since campaigned in the Trans Valley League, where it captured its last crown in 2001, until the 2009-10 season.
Vos had a career night Tuesday, helping RC overcome a poor start in which Denair (8-3, 16-8) led by as much as 10, 42-32, with 1:02 left in the second quarter. He finished with 36 points and hit eight of the Knights’ 12 3-pointers.
“He is just determined,” Ripon Christian head coach Ron Vander Molen said. “After we beat Le Grand (68-55 last Friday) I started talking about Denair, and he said ‘Coach, don’t worry about it.’
“He pretty much guaranteed it from within our locker room and backed it up.”
Vos was supported by younger brother Dan’s 13 points and six assists, and fellow senior Dylan Van Vliet’s 10 points and six rebounds. Isaac Norman provided some energy off the bench, adding five points and seven assists.
The win was RC’s third over Denair, with one of them coming in the consolation championship of Riverbank’s Ron Peterson Tipoff Classic. That was decided by a 63-44 margin.
Vander Molen was not surprised that the two league meetings — the other a 64-56 victory — were much closer.
“It’s hard to beat a team as good as Denair three times,” Vander Molen said.
The rematch on Tuesday was capped off fittingly by an exciting play — a halfcourt 3-pointer by Denair’s Juan De La Cruz, after Van Vliet all but sealed it by hitting one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining.
The final bucket, however, served as a painful reminder as to how Denair lost the game.
The Coyotes were 12-for-26 from the free-throw line and 5-for-14 in the fourth quarter, while Ripon Christian was 18-for-29 from the stripe.
“We had our opportunities in the fourth quarter,” Wooten said. “We had some of our best free-throw shooters on the line, but they were tired from scrambling all night and working hard.”
Denair had four players in double figures and were led by Colin Sosa’s 17 points. Colby Wooten added 15 points and six assists. Clayton McDonald and De La Cruz had 13 apiece.
