Top-seeded Ripon Christian shook off nearly a week’s work of rust to take a double-digit halftime lead Thursday and then pull away for a 77-47 quarterfinal win over visiting No. 8 Big Valley Christian in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V boys basketball playoffs.
“We haven’t played for six days,” Knights coach Mark Hofman said. “So it was good to get back on the court. I thought we were a little rusty at times, and hopefully we will get a little more consistent.
“The guys are really good at figuring out what is available and taking what the defense gives them. As you can see, we have a lot of weapons.”
Ripon Christian’s weapons were on display with three players in double figures. Jake Vander Veen led the Knights attack with a double-double at 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
“That was a great game,” Vander Veen said. “I felt good from the get-go and the game went on from there. My teammates were doing a great job and we work together really well.
“It was a great team win.”
Jace Beidleman flirted with a triple-double for the Knights, scoring 14 points with eight impressive blocks and seven rebounds, and Beidleman noted that the Lions (22-7) had just two seniors on the roster.
“Going in, we knew that they were going to give it their all,” Beidleman said. “I looked at the roster and saw they did not have very many seniors, so I told coach that they were young, so get the ball to the seniors or Jake (Vander Veen) and let us work.
“We have been playing basketball together for a long time, and sure enough we got it done.”
Luke Crivello (four rebounds, two steals) helped set the tone for the first quarter when Ripon Christian (22-6) scored 20 points by netting seven of his 19 points in the opening period.
“I knew this was a big game and they couldn’t be taken lightly,” Crivello said. “So I knew we needed some senior leadership to take over in the beginning of the game and set the tone.”
Titus Boone led Big Valley Christian with 12 points with Solomon Parris adding 11 points and Cohen Boone 10.
The Knights punched their ticket to the NorCal playoffs with the win over the Lions and host No. 4 Bradshaw Christian on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
