RIPON — The Indians knew they were in for a battle against visiting Mountain House on Friday.
Ripon (19-11), the No. 4-seeded team, controlled most of the action for the exception of a tough stretch in the third quarter, advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV quarterfinal round with a 79-58 win over No. 5 Mountain House of the Western Athletic Conference.
"Our guys knew they were facing a unique athlete in No. 23," said Indians coach Justin Graham, who was referring to the Mustangs' high-flying Keenami Maggard.
True to form, the 6-foot-4 Mountain House senior delivered on a variety of NBA-worthy dunks while scoring 23 points including 15 in the first half. But even at that, the Indians still managed to maintain their composure.
Vincent Olmo is a unique athlete in his own right. The Mustangs (21-7) had no answer in stopping the 6-8 senior.
Olmo, who scored his 1,000th point in his storied high school career in the second quarter, finished with a game-high 28 points with 16 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Ripon jumped out to an early lead thanks to superb 3-point shooting from Troy Brogan, Adam Wood, Dorian Dougherty and Baz Cheema. The latter two provided some firepower coming off the bench.
The Indians hit six treys in opening quarter coupled with Olmo's scoring from the inside and ball distribution coming from the likes of Nico Ilardi and Danny Hernandez, claiming a 23-14 lead after one.
Good ball movement enabled Ripon to increase that advantage in the second quarter. In one sequence, Olmo came up with the offensive glass, tipping the ball to Wood for the step-back 3.
The third quarter nearly proved disastrous for the Indians, who entered the break with a 44-23 advantage.
Mountain House applied pressure defense while slowly whittling away the lead. Tavio Meeks delivered on a pair of 3s and Nick Baluyot used his speed for several fastbreak layups. He, too, hit a trey during the 25-9 run -- Maggard delivered on a put-back dunk and a one-handed throw down.
"He's so athletic," said Olmo, who was wowed by the play of Maggard.
He added: "We just tried to deny him from the driving (to the hoop)."
Meanwhile, Ripon's once sizeable lead was down to five, 53-48.
"We had a lot of turnovers," said Graham. "But we were able to get back in control and battle back from adversity."
From that point on, the Indians outscored Mountain House, 19-4. Cheema was one of the valuable contributors during that span.
"Coach calls me the Draymond Green (the Golden State Warriors' ultimate glue guy) on the team since I do everything," said the 6-4 senior reserve.
Brogan, meanwhile, had 15 points with four rebounds and two steals. Wood chipped in with 12.
Baluyot had 20 for the Mustangs.
Ripon will look to put another all-around team effort Wednesday against Liberty Ranch.
The top team in Division IV defeated No. 8 Bear River, 83-64.
Ripon Christian 73, Mariposa 64
RIPON -- Despite trailing 16-1 to open Friday's Sac-Joaquin Section Division V quarterfinals, the Knights fought back and eventually edged out their once Southern League rival Grizzlies.
Ripon Christian (19-11), the No. 4 seed, came all way back to make it a one-possession game right before the half, 38-35.
No. 5 Mariposa relied on one of the area's most dynamic scorers in Devon Acker-James, who finished with a game-high 38 points including six 3s.
"He was unstoppable," said RC coach Mark Hofman.
He received a scare when Cade Alger, one of his top players, injured an ankle early on. The 6-8 senior came back in the game and used his play-making skills to help his team surge ahead.
The Knights outscored the Grizzles in the third, taking a 58-55 lead into the final quarter.
Jacob Van Groningen led RC with 21 points and Will Gilbert chipped in with 18. Brock Nunes and Alger finished with 13 and 10, respectively.
The Knights will face Brookside Christian on Wednesday.
The No. 1 Brookside Christian easily handled No. 8 Woodland Christian, 84-26.
