Trailing by six with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter, Ripon Christian was able to overcome an off-shooting night and a dangerous No. 7 seed with grit and a clutch performance from Jace Beidleman on Friday.
The 6-foot-7 junior made a buzzer beating layup at the end of regulation and took over in the extra period of a hard-earned 69-60 triumph over Leroy Greene Academy.
The second-seeded Knights (21-7) advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinals and secured a spot in the California Interscholastic Federation Northern Regional Championships for a sixth straight season. They’ll next host No. 3 Vacaville Christian next Wednesday.
Ripon Christian had to survive its first real test since winter break. The Knights, coming off a first-round bye, have won 13 straight, but the first 12 were double-digit blowouts in Trans-Valley League play.
“I think that was a kick in the butt we needed for the next round, because now we know we can’t do anything at even 98%. We have to go 100% the whole time,” Ripon Christian senior guard Eli Terpsma said.
He led all scorers with 27 points, but it was Beidleman’s play in crunch time that carried Ripon Christian over the line. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Jamare Mitchell-Bragg (26 points, nine rebounds) knocked down two free throws to give the Lions (16-6) from Sacramento their final lead of the game with 19.1 seconds left in regulation.
Ripon Christian looked to take the lead on the next possession, as Terpsma used a screen from Beidleman at the top of the arc to fire an open 3-pointer with about 10 seconds to go. Beidleman rolled to the hoop and was able to get the offensive rebound before finding Derek Van Elderen in the key with a bounce pass.
Van Elderen rushed up a shot that was deflected by Green Academy’s Bryce Buchanan (18 points), but Beidleman was at the right spot to gather the loose ball in the air lay it in.
“My first hope was just to get the ball up,” Beidleman said. “I didn’t know how much time was on the clock, I didn’t have time to look up. I caught it and saw the backboard for the open shot.”
It was all Beidleman and the Knights from there, as he accounted for six of the Knights’ 12 points in overtime, also coming up with a steal resulting in a fastbreak assist to Terpsma during a game-changing 10-0 run. Ripon Christian scored the first eight points of overtime.
In a game that sometimes got physical but never out of hand, Beidleman took a knock to the head that gave him some extra motivation for the rest of the game.
“I got hit in the head, but that’s part of basketball,” he said. “They were talking a lot, and I just had enough. I just changed my mind set and went to work.”
Luke Crivello contributed 12 points and hit a big 3 that helped spark Ripon Christian’s comeback.
While the game remained close, the Knights did not trail for the first three quarters and even had an eight-point lead, 40-32, late in the third quarter after Justin Hofman (eight points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals) made two straight baskets.
“I don’t think it was every comfortable, because we know they can make those shots,” Terpsma said. “We know they can come right back, which they did.
Three-point shooting was what kept the Lions within arm’s reach the entire game, as they put down 10 from beyond the arc while Ripon Christian made just three.
Greene Academy opened the fourth period on a 12-2 run and jumped ahead for the first time, 47-46, on Mitchell-Bragg’s baseline runner with 4:11 to go.
“We were not happy having them as a second-round opponent, because that’s a quality team,” RC coach Mark Hofman said. “We went and watched them the other night and they shot lights-out then, too. They’re just talented.
“It just came down to one or two possessions between two good teams.”
Ripon Christian is a win away from playing at Golden 1 Center for the championship set for Feb. 25 with a noontime tipoff. Their next opponent, Vacaville Christian (22-3), is the Sierra Delta League champion and coming off a 51-36 drubbing of Western Sierra Collegiate Academy. Top-seeded Fortune Early College and No. 5 Woodland Christian are in the other semifinal.
“We can play better,” Hofman said. “If we can beat that good of a team and not have a great night shooting, I’m very excited.”
