Ripon has had its share of shooting woes over the course of the season, and it’s what kept it from winning the Trans-Valley League championship.

The fourth-seeded Indians found their touch when they needed it Thursday against Escalon, burning their oldest

The No. 5 Cougars (23-7) led by as much as 13 points in the first half and entered the second half ahead, 29-22. Ripon turned the tide with nine 3s during its 33-point blitz in the third quarter.

Jack Schoolland accounted for three of those 3-pointers, while Dawson Downs, Landon Gillespie and Bradley Reedy made two apiece. Nine of the Indians’ 11 field goals in the quarter were set up by good ball movement, and they totaled 20 assists for the night.

Ripon carried a 55-52 to advantage into the fourth period, and 6-foot-4 Marcus Madoski came alive to land the finishing blows.

“We had a good halftime talk with coach,” Gillespie said. “He let us know that we needed to play as a team and not so selfishly. We were able to find each other and hit big shots. Like coach said, take those big shots, don’t be afraid of it. And we weren’t afraid to hit them.”

It took a team effort for Ripon to overcome Ethan Garza’s 33-point outburst. Escalon’s senior point guard knocked down six 3s of his own, adding three assists and four steals.

Gillespie finished with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists. Dawson also had 19 points to go with nine rebounds. Madoski (five rebounds, three blocks) and Reedy added 13 points each.

Ripon coach Dean Balcao believed it was only a matter of time for his team to catch fire, and it picked a great time to do so.

“We shoot every day, and we have good shooters,” Balcao said. “I’ve been hoping for a breakout shooting game. We’ve gone some games where we’re 4 for 20. There was a two-game stretch way back when where we were 4 for 35. Tonight, I don’t know. Third quarter, all of the sudden it clicked. We needed every one of those 3s. It was pretty amazing.”

Ripon won two nail biters against Escalon by three-point margins during the regular season, and similar to the previous meetings, round 3 featured several big swings of momentum.

Gillespie buried two early 3s, but Escalon scored 11 unanswered points — including eight in a row from Garza — to lead 14-8 heading into the second period. The gap widened to 26-13 before the Indians responded with a 9-0 run.

Garza got a shooter’s bounce for a buzzer-beating 3, capping a physical and sometimes-sloppy first half.

 “It’s the third time we’ve played them, and I was worried, because every game we played in the past it could have went either way. It came down to the end and we made the plays and we won.”

The Indians again made the plays down the stretch, only this time, victory was secured earlier.

Hampered by foul trouble in the first half, he 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter. He scored six points in an 8-0 burst, which included a tip-in basket after a missed free throw from Downs.

Madoski was just getting warmed up.

With about 2:20 remaining, he spearheaded a one-man fastbreak after coming up with a steal and put the exclamation point on the night with a contested slam dunk, pushing Ripon’s lead to 72-59. He then left his mark on the defensive end, blocking a 3-point shot in the final minute.

“I really did want to go up for it to get that energy going for that last push in the end.,” Madoski said of his dunk. “I saw him coming and I just changed my momentum to get by, and it ended up working.

Madoski wasn’t the only player giving Ripon a boost of energy. Reserve guard Ethan Bauer came up with some big hustle plays throughout, finishing with four points, five assists, three rebounds and steal and a block. He got extended minutes after starting point guard Logan Lefebvre aggravated a sprained ankle.

“We call him the Tasmanian Devil,” Balcao said. “He’s just all over the place. When he’s in the game, we like to speed it up and press a little bit. He’s a big spark off the bench. He was huge.”

Ripon will next face No. 1 seed Venture Academy (27-3) next Tuesday in Stockton. The Mustangs mauled No. 9 West Campus 108-55 in their quarterfinal. On the other side of the bracket No. 3 Natomas (22-8) heads to No. 2 Union Mine (28-2).

“Do I want to go all the way up to El Dorado Hills and play Union Mine, or do I want to travel 20 minutes to go play Venture?” Balcao said. “Either way, they’re really good, and we’re going to have to play a really good game to beat either one. That’s why they’re No. 1 and 2.”