ROSEVILLE – Ripon found out the hard way Saturday why Merced was awarded the top seed as the Bears ran away with the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Boys Water Polo Championship 17-2 at the Roseville Aquatics Center.

“We lost more than half our starters from last year and made it back here,” Indians coach Jeremy West said. “I’m a first-year head coach, we have lost our dream team from last year, and I don’t think a lot of people believed we would get back here.

“And for us to do it is really a testament to how hard they were willing to work, and I couldn’t be more proud of these kids when at the beginning of the season maybe we weren’t all on the same page, but I think by the end of the season, we all caught the vision of what we could become.”

Third-seeded Ripon (20-13) did not score until midway through the third period when Matt Lee took an assist from Trevor Bell to make the score 13-1. In the fourth quarter, Deven Patel came close on a goal, and Lucas Rietkerk followed up for the put-back.

“I knew we had to get at least one more goal,” Rietkerk said. “I honestly thought the shot was in, but when he didn’t blow the whistle, I just saw the ball and put it in the net.”

Ripon goalie Andrew Hanker tallied five steals and five blocks, Boen West added two steals.

It has been a long time between blue banners for Merced (30-2).

“We were on a mission,” Bears coach Eric Larson said. “It’s been 31 years since our last section title, and this is what we wanted and nobody was going to stop this team.

“Ripon is a very well-coached team, by the way. Jeremy West is a heck of a coach, and I respect him very much.”

Reid McCall led Merced with seven kills and Cord McCall added four kills.

The two teams will begin the CIF Northern Regional playoffs on Tuesday. Ripon is seeded sixth in Division III and will head to San Jose to face No. 3 Leland, while Merced is eighth in Division II and takes on top-seeded Redwood in Larkspur.