No stranger to pressure situations, Ripon Christian’s two senior starters stepped up Friday to lead the Knights back into first place in the Trans-Valley League.

Luke Crivello scored 21 points, while 6-foot-9 Jace Beidleman collected 12 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks in the 72-60 win over visiting rival Ripon. The two teams now share the top spot in league, while Escalon and Riverbank are a game back at the halfway point of the TVL schedule.

Since Ripon Christian joined the TVL in 2014-15, the title has been claimed or shared by these neighboring schools, with the Knights capturing at least a piece of five and Ripon taking four.

“We knew coming into this game it wasn’t going to be easy,” Beidleman said. “Anytime we play Ripon or Escalon, any of those schools, it’s a rivalry game. We

Last week, Escalon upset defending champ Ripon Christian (5-1, 15-6) with a buzzer-beating layup. It served as a wake-up call for the Knights, who start three sophomores alongside the two holdovers from the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship team.

“Escalon got very physical with us, and I have some younger players,” RC coach Mark Hofman said. “What does it take to win every night in the TVL? You have to come ready to play — there are no nights off. You have to keep your focus.

“That was a punch in the mouth. Escalon came out real physical with us, and our guys got a little timid. But that’s what helps us win games like this.”

The underclassmen more than held their own in their first varsity tussle with the Indians (5-1, 16-6). Jake Vander Veen had 19 points and five rebounds. Mason Tameling made four 3-pointers for his 12 points, while adding eight rebounds and three assists. And Amos Cady collected contributed eight points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

“They’ve grown a lot,” Crivello said. “The Escalon game was really tough for them, but they responded really well.”

Crivello also knocked down four 3s and grabbed seven rebounds.

He and Beidleman linked up for the highlight of the night with 2:40 remaining. Crivello dribbled past a defender along the baseline and lobbed it to the front of the rim for Beidleman to slam it down.

They earlier missed another alley-oop opportunity on the same type of play, as Crivello opted to attempt — and make — a floater.

“Running down the court I turned to him and was like, ‘Hey, that’s an oop right there,’” Beidleman said. “And he said, ‘OK, I got you next time.’ Sure enough, he put it up next time and I got it.”

Landon Gillespie paced Ripon with 12 points, scoring eight of them in the fourth quarter when the Indians scrapped to stay in the game. They trailed by as much as 17, 55-38, in the final minute of the third period but were energized by turnovers forced by their full-court press.

Ethan Bauer added 11 points and four steals, and Logan Lefebvre tallied 10 points and five rebounds.

“Look at how close the game was,” Hofman said. “That’s how good we had to play to beat them.”

Ripon Christian used an 11-0 run in the first quarter to lead 13-5 and never trailed since. The Knights led 38-29 at halftime and had an overwhelming 23-9 advantage on rebounds.

“That was a big thing we talked about at halftime,” Ripon coach Dean Balcao said. “They were outhustling us and probably got about 80 percent of the 50-50 balls. You’re not going to win too many games getting outrebounded and giving up 72 points.”

It only got tougher for the Indians early in the second half when 6-4 forward Dawson Downs was whistled for his fourth foul. He finished with eight points and six rebounds. Junior front-court mate Marcus Madoski scored nine points but was shutout in the second half. Jack Schoolland pitched in five points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

 “Win or lose, we’re still in first place,” Balcao said. “We have half of league to go, and we just have to play good basketball right now because the playoffs are coming up. We want to be peaking when the playoffs come.”

Ripon will get another shot at RC at home on Feb. 9, the regular-season finale.

Junior varsity

Ripon 61, Ripon Christian 30

Tip Paini produced a game-high 14 points in the lopsided win for Ripon (5-1 TVL, 9-10 overall). Andrew Shaw added 10 points, and Gino Calderra recorded eight.

Chase Bunnell and Ben Bulthuis scored eight apiece for the Knights (4-1, 13-6).