MODESTO — Ripon wasn’t always sharp on offense, but it more than made up for it on the defensive end during its Big Valley Christian Tournament opener Thursday.

Matt Ratto poured in 22 points in just three quarters of play, and the Indians routed Turlock Christian 70-22 without having to go to their full-court press.

Turlock Christian was held to single-digit scoring in each quarter and trailed 42-9 by halftime.

“I know I’m going to sound crazy, but Ratto actually had an off game,” Ripon coach Rod Wright said. “We have a lot of things to work on like our timing on offense and our defensive structure, but it was nice to start (the season) with a positive.
“For our first game we played relatively well.”

Caleb Christian scored 12 points for Ripon, and forward Kody Wengel added nine.

Ripon next squares off with 2008-09 Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinalist Victory Christian tonight at 6:30.

RIVERBANK — The Knights (1-0) used an 18-6 second-quarter push to break away from scrappy Hilmar and advance to the winner’s bracket semifinal round.

Ripon Christian’s size advantage was the difference.

Six-foot-4 forward Logan Vos led all scorers with 24 points, and 6-8 center Tyler Goslinga dropped in 23. Vos also hit four 3-pointers, and guard Steve Vander Molen chipped in 11 points.

Jomar Ta-a and Josh Tung fired in 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Yellowjackets.

Ripon Christian takes on Calaveras at 7 tonight.

VALLEJO — Manteca did well to battle back from an early 15-2 deficit and even held a lead as big as four, 41-36, in the third quarter. Freshman Mikayla Hasal missed a 3-point attempt to tie it as time expired.

Sharon Washington finished with 21 points to lead the Buffaloes, and post Davina Bennett turned in 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“Rio Linda is a really good team, we just missed a lot of easy little buckets in the first half that came back to haunt us,” Manteca coach Andrea Hiatt said.

Manteca faces DeAnza today at 5 p.m.