With backcourt mate Amos Cady out on a football recruiting visit, Jake Vander Veen was thrust into a different — though not entirely unfamiliar — role for Ripon Christian on Monday in an important non-league clash with large-school opponent Heritage.
The third-year senior carried much of the offensive load as the primary ball handler, finishing with 30 points and seven assists to lead a hard-earned 74-72 victory over the visiting Patriots out of Brentwood, who charged back from an 18-point deficit to make things interesting in the end.
Earlier in the season, Vander Veen carried the attack with three starters arriving late from the football team’s deep playoff run. Mason Tameling, one of those latecomers, supported Vander Veen on Monday with 15 points on five 3s to go with six rebounds.
“It’s a lot more responsibility on my shoulders,” Vander Veen said. “I knew that coming into the game there would be a lot more shots, so I needed to be aggressive. I came out and di that, and I was able to get look for my teammates and they knocked them down. I was really proud of the guys tonight. It was a big win for us.”
Five others contributed with scoring and other areas to make up for the absence of Cady, the Knights’ best athlete and all-around player.
Among the key contributors is newcomer Jeremiah Lambdin, a promising 6-4 freshman recently called up from the lower levels. He chipped in six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“We don’t win that game without him,” RC coach Mark Hofman said. “He’s only been with me for about 10 days. He adds another athletic rebounder.”
Winners of seven straight, the Knights (15-9) needed this one to help boost their MaxPreps rating, which the Sac-Joaquin Section uses to determine postseason seeding.
Heritage (13-10) did not make it easy, with decided advantages in both length and speed. In the post, the Patriots are anchored by 6-foot-7 Aidan Muse (13 points, nine rebounds), 6-5 Julian Njelita (eight points) and 6-4 Patrick Iwuh (10 points, nine rebounds). Njelita has signed with Cal Poly as a defensive end for football.
Josiah Thomas led Heritage from the perimeter, ending with 17 points and five steals. Speedy point guard Darius Walker added six points, eight assists and six rebounds.
“Playing against a good, D-I team is no easy task,” Vander Veen said. “This is just going to get us ready for those playoff games. We don’t have the same size we used to, and we showed tonight that we can go up against those guys and win these games.”
Momentum was hard to come by for the Knights after taking their largest lead of the game.
Chase Bunnell (five points, five rebounds, three assists) scored on a nifty drive 14 seconds into the final period to widen their advantage to 64-46.
The Patriots responded with nine unanswered points and began to stifle Ripon Christian with a full-court press and by double-teaming Vander Veen in halfcourt sets before he could create scoring opportunities.
“You could tell how badly we missed Amos,” Hofman said. “Early in the year, teams were blitzing Jake. Now, with Mason, Amos and Chase, we just have too much offense. But when Amos is gone, there’s one giant piece. He’s our one-man press breaker. Plus, he averages like seven, eight rebounds a game and four steals. He’s athletic enough to counter these athletic teams.
“The guys picked it up for him. They knew he had to go take care of his football thing, and Jake kind of put it on his shoulders.”
Heritage cut the deficit to single digits with 40 seconds left on put-back bucket from Iwuh, making it 72-6-4. He had another put-back with 14.6 remaining and was fouled on the play. He made the and-1 free throw to get the Patriots within arm’s length, 72-69.
Josiah Van Vliet (seven points) knocked down two free throws to to give Ripon Christian some breathing room, but Heritage again had an answer — Thomas grabbed a long rebound in the right corner and buried a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds to go.
Following a timeout, the Patriots stole the inbounds pass near mid-court, but time ran out on their miracle comeback attempt.
“This will be good for our playoff experience, and I think we’re in a great spot right now and catching momentum at the right time after a hard preseason,” Vander Veen said.
Ripon Christian will go back to setting its sights on a sixth consecutive Trans Valley League championship. The Knights have four games remaining and end the week against rivals Ripon at home on Thursday and Escalon on the road Friday.
Junior varsity
Heritage 59, Ripon Christian 58 (OT)
Heritage battled back from a 16-point halftime deficit and hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds. The Patriots had nine different scoring contributors and were led by Girish Buneti’s 13 points.
Hudson Schenk poured in 22 points for Ripon Christian, making four 3s. Tyler Van Elderen added 13 points, and Henry Bulthuis had nine.
