Faced with a similar scenario just two days earlier, Ripon was able to finish the job Friday when it waxed visiting Hughson 68-43 and hopped back on the winning track in the Trans Valley League.

The Indians (3-1, 6-12 overall) were ahead comfortably to start the fourth quarter, 49-33, but had two of their most reliable scorers in foul trouble.

Flashback to Wednesday when they led visiting rival Escalon 37-23 after three quarters. Landon Gillespie fouled out midway through the fourth, and the Indians sputtered offensively on their way to a disheartening 59-56 defeat in double overtime.

“We did not handle the end of the game with Escalon very well, probably as poorly as you can,” Ripon coach Justin Graham said. “We spent a little bit of time on it in practice yesterday, watched film and made sure we’re all on the same page on what the expectations are on how to handle those late-game situations.

“Tonight in the last four minutes, the guys executed perfectly, got good shots and finished the game.”

Gillespie was again in foul trouble, as he and sophomore forward Marcus Madoski both picked up their fourth late in the third quarter.

Neither one fouled out, as Gillespie scored the final seven points of the game for Ripon. He wound up with a game-high 17 points to go with six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Madoski posted eight of his 10 points in the third quarter and blocked three shots overall.

Ty Herrin contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists. The 6-foot-3 junior forward accounted for the Indians’ final seven points of the first half when they otherwise struggled offensively.

Hughson (0-4, 5-8) trailed 20-8 to start the second quarter but went on an 8-0 run while giving Ripon’s ball handlers some trouble with its pressure defense. Gillespie knocked down a 3 with 5:11 to go to snap Ripon out of its rut, and Herrin took it from there.

The Indians led 30-22 at halftime. Hughson missed all seven of its free throws in the first half but forced 12 turnovers to keep itself in the game. Ripon finished with 23 giveaways, while the Huskies had 27.

“Hughson is an improved team from years past, for sure,” Graham said. “We couldn’t get any film on them, so we went into the game a little blind and I don’t think we understood how scrappy they could be. We definitely came out in the second quarter a little soft, and they got into us, got deflections and pressured us into making turnovers. We said, ‘Guys, we can’t just show up and win this game, we gotta go out there and earn it.’’

A run of eight unanswered points in the third quarter, capped by a 3-pointer from Bradley Reedy (eight points), pushed Ripon’s lead to 43-28.

Graham singled out a few role players for helping the team maintain — and even build upon — its sizable lead as Gillespie and Madoski were benched with foul trouble.

Dawson Downs made an and-1 layup at the end of the third quarter and another in the opening minute of the fourth. Later, reserve point guard Victor Alvarellos made two layups just 9 seconds apart, setting up the latter by stealing the inbounds pass. Alvarellos’ heads-up play widened the gap to 55-33 with 6:05 left in the game and punctuated a 10-0 flurry. 

“A couple guys came off the bench and gave us really good minutes,” Graham said. “Dawson Downs was aggressive in the paint, took good shots and made good plays on defense. Victor Alvarellos was also big up there in the (full-court) press. They played a big part in us keeping our lead.”

Ryan Aschwanden paced Hughson with eight points, all scored in the second half. Ripon had an overwhelming 37-20 edge in rebounds.