Playing a third straight game without its top player, Ripon opened Trans Valley League play on Wednesday with a 54-35 loss to visiting Hughson.

The Indians (5-11) are without second-year junior guard Gino Calderara, who averages 18.9 points per game but also serves as the initiator on offense and a multi-position defender on the other end. He suffered a high ankle sprain in a non-league win over Franklin last week. They’ve since dropped three in a row, and Calderara is expected to miss at least two more weeks.

The timing of the injury

“He’s our main ball handler, so not having him is big,” Ripon coach Dean Balcao said. “It hurts us a lot. We have to get used to playing without him, and other guys have to step up. It’s just tough, because everyone’s role is changing.”

Sam Stewart did all he could to pick up the slack, scoring a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers. He also had four steals. Jude Viss contributed eight points and threw down a breakaway dunk late in the first half.

Hughson (8-8), however, had its way with balanced, inside-out scoring on offense in some stretches and a bothersome pressure defense that forced 18 turnovers. The Huskies never trailed.

They were paced by Kyree Morrell and Xavier Urquidez with 11 points apiece, as nine different Hughson players scored. Morrell pumped in all of his points in the fourth quarter, while finishing with six rebounds and three assists. Titus Beers pitched in four points but was an interior presence with six rebounds and three blocks.

Sophomore guard Karam Kang drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to extend the Huskies’ lead to 26-15.

Already struggling to get shots to drop, Ripon went on a dry spell in the final 4:42 of the third quarter. The Indians were held to single digits in each of the first three periods.

“They shot the ball pretty well, they run their stuff and are well coached,” Balcao said of the Huskies. “We played decent defense, but and our offense was just not hitting. We were having a hard time scoring.”