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Ripon rallies to win fourth straight heading into league
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ANGELS CAMP – Things didn’t start off well for Ripon after the long road trip up to Bret Harte for their last non-league game.

Down 9-2 at the outset, the Indians struggled with the Bullfrogs’ big man Will Finn before eventually rallying back to take a 26-25 lead at the end of the first half.

But whatever was holding up them up in the first half was gone by the middle of the third with Efren Sifuentes scoring nine of his 14 points in the quarter to spark the second-half rally that would elevate Ripon to a 59-47 victory.

“ We came out and we struggled with transition offense at the beginning of the game,” Ripon head coach Rod Wright said. “But we came out in the second half and got our rhythm going and started making some shots.”

Leading scorer Matt Ratto – who finished the game with 20 points – hit all eight of his free throws down the stretch to finish the game a perfect 10 for 10 at the line.

Ryan Baker contributed 10 points.

“We had a total team defensive night tonight,” Wright said. “But it was one of those games where you have to go on the road on a Friday night and it’s not easy.

“But we never felt like we were out of it, and we definitely improved in the second half.”

With the win, Ripon improves to 9-8 to round out its preseason play, riding a four-game winning streak over teams from the Mother Lode League into their first Trans Valley League game on Wednesday when they face Hughson.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bret Harte 49, Ripon 36
A cold-shooting night plagued Ripon Friday as they watched a two-point halftime deficit slowly grow throughout the second half.

Ripon had 29 fouls to Bret Harte’s 15, and had three starters foul out of the game to make a comeback even less likely.

Skye Dominguez led Ripon in scoring with 17. Jessica Blythe scored seven.

— Jason Campbell