RIPON — For a sophomore, Cole Herrin plays and acts like he’s been there, done that.
That’s because he has.
In his second postseason appearance Wednesday, Herrin looked the part of a veteran floor general in Ripon High’s resounding 67-43 opening-round win over No. 11 Mariposa, as he produced 23 points, eight assists and five steals and ignited a game-changing 16-3 explosion in the third quarter.
The wiry 6-foot guard accounted for 10 points — all coming in transition — during that pivotal run, and his 3-pointer at the end of the period stretched the Indians’ lead to 54-37.
“It’s the maturation of his development,” Wright said of Herrin. “He understands (the game), he’s so quick and he’s like an Energizer bunny — he just goes and goes and goes.
“In the third quarter he just took it upon himself. He does a lot of the little things perfectly, and the beauty of it is he’s still improving.”
A scary thought.
Herrin and the other four sophomores who were brought up for last year’s one-and-done run in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV playoffs are eager to show a familiar opponent just how much they’ve improved.
No. 3 Colfax awaits Friday after dispatching Encina, 74-55. In last year’s opening round, then-top-seeded Colfax throttled Herrin’s sixth-seeded Indians, 81-53, in the first round.
Those five freshmen were schooled. Now sophomores, they’ve applied what they learned from the experience.
“Just knowing what the playoff atmosphere is like, the intensity and how the seniors (prepared), it was a huge advantage for us going into this year,” Herrin said.
Junior center Jake McCreath added 10 points and 14 rebounds, and senior Jared Ratto chimed in with nine points and five assists. Dante Machado, another one of those sophomores, got the home crown buzzing with a two-handed put-back dunk with 21 seconds left in the contest.
It was a chess match in the early going, as the quicker Indians and vertically-blessed Grizzlies (17-11) tried playing to their advantages.
Mariposa’s post tandem of 6-foot-3 Ian Merzwinski and 6-7 center Drake Long made their presence felt at the start, giving Ripon’s top interior weapon, McCreath, fits with their length.
But in the second half, Merzwinski (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Long (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks) combined for just four points.
Guard Jeremiah Baca led Mariposa with 13 points.
“We knew Mariposa is very strong, especially inside,” Ripon coach Rod Wright said. “(Drake and Merzwinski) score 30 of their points a game and we held them to 17. This was a good win for us.”
Mariposa had trouble setting up its half-court offense because of Ripon’s stifling full-court press, especially in the third quarter. Ripon forced 26 turnovers overall.
“We haven’t seen that kind of pressure,” Mariposa coach Trace DeSandres said. “Ripon plays so hard and the kids are really well-coached. Our kids had a really difficult time with that and panicked in key situations.”
That’s because he has.
In his second postseason appearance Wednesday, Herrin looked the part of a veteran floor general in Ripon High’s resounding 67-43 opening-round win over No. 11 Mariposa, as he produced 23 points, eight assists and five steals and ignited a game-changing 16-3 explosion in the third quarter.
The wiry 6-foot guard accounted for 10 points — all coming in transition — during that pivotal run, and his 3-pointer at the end of the period stretched the Indians’ lead to 54-37.
“It’s the maturation of his development,” Wright said of Herrin. “He understands (the game), he’s so quick and he’s like an Energizer bunny — he just goes and goes and goes.
“In the third quarter he just took it upon himself. He does a lot of the little things perfectly, and the beauty of it is he’s still improving.”
A scary thought.
Herrin and the other four sophomores who were brought up for last year’s one-and-done run in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV playoffs are eager to show a familiar opponent just how much they’ve improved.
No. 3 Colfax awaits Friday after dispatching Encina, 74-55. In last year’s opening round, then-top-seeded Colfax throttled Herrin’s sixth-seeded Indians, 81-53, in the first round.
Those five freshmen were schooled. Now sophomores, they’ve applied what they learned from the experience.
“Just knowing what the playoff atmosphere is like, the intensity and how the seniors (prepared), it was a huge advantage for us going into this year,” Herrin said.
Junior center Jake McCreath added 10 points and 14 rebounds, and senior Jared Ratto chimed in with nine points and five assists. Dante Machado, another one of those sophomores, got the home crown buzzing with a two-handed put-back dunk with 21 seconds left in the contest.
It was a chess match in the early going, as the quicker Indians and vertically-blessed Grizzlies (17-11) tried playing to their advantages.
Mariposa’s post tandem of 6-foot-3 Ian Merzwinski and 6-7 center Drake Long made their presence felt at the start, giving Ripon’s top interior weapon, McCreath, fits with their length.
But in the second half, Merzwinski (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Long (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks) combined for just four points.
Guard Jeremiah Baca led Mariposa with 13 points.
“We knew Mariposa is very strong, especially inside,” Ripon coach Rod Wright said. “(Drake and Merzwinski) score 30 of their points a game and we held them to 17. This was a good win for us.”
Mariposa had trouble setting up its half-court offense because of Ripon’s stifling full-court press, especially in the third quarter. Ripon forced 26 turnovers overall.
“We haven’t seen that kind of pressure,” Mariposa coach Trace DeSandres said. “Ripon plays so hard and the kids are really well-coached. Our kids had a really difficult time with that and panicked in key situations.”
