Ripon Christian took Madera South’s best shot in the first quarter of their California Interscholastic Federation Division V Northern Regional opener Tuesday.
Then, the third-seeded Knights went to work and rode away with their 16th straight victory.
Led by Eli Terpsma’s 21 points and seven rebounds, RC locked down defensively and got its inside-out attack untracked and in a 61-44 drubbing of No. 14 Madera South.
The turning point for Ripon Christian (24-7) was a 16-0 run in the second quarter. The Knights trailed 8-2 after the first 2 ½ minutes of the game and gave up 19 points in the opening period, only to dominate the second stanza, 20-5.
“We start out like that, normally,” Ripon Christian guard Justin Hofman said. “Eventually, we figured out that we need spread the court out and get good shots. The big guys pick up a lot of boards that way, too.”
Hofman contributed six points and eight assists, effectively facilitating the half-court and fastbreak offenses.
Terpsma scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, highlighted by a coast-to-coast bucket in which he made a steal on one end and evaded a defender near midcourt with a wrap-around dribble on the way to smooth breakaway finish on the other end.
Luke Crivello added 11 points, including three 3s. Madera South also had trouble with the twin-tower combination of Jace Beidleman (four blocks) and Thys Van Der Hoek (nine rebounds), who scored eight points apiece.
“It really opened up when we were getting it to the post,” Ripon Christian coach Mark Hofman said. “It’s hard to pressure that long all game. Eventually, you’re going to soften up, how we were able to get to the basket (in the second half).”
The Stallions (17-16) were able to use quickness to their advantage at the start, forcing turnovers, scoring on fastbreak opportunities and finding each other for open 3s.
Madera South, the Central Section Division V champion, carried a 19-12 lead into the second quarter after Erik Cervantes nailed the last of the Stallions’ four 3s in the first. They made just one more 3-pointer the rest of the way, and it was a contested shot from freshman Maurice Snowden in the corner with 11 seconds to go in the first half. That shot ended a 6-minute, 27-second scoring drought for Madera South.
Ripon Christian took a 32-24 lead into halftime, but it only got tougher for the visitors from there.
“I think we were hot early, that helped,” Madera South coach Corey Edmiston said. “Got a little tentative offensively after that. I think we were outmatched either way, to be honest with you, and it just kind of caught up to us a little bit.”
Daniel Valdez powered the Stallions’ quick start, scoring seven of his team-high 11 points in the first period. The 5-foot-8 senior point guard also led them with seven rebounds. Snowden chipped in with 10 points, and Cervantes had nine points, five boards and three steals.
“It took us a little while to adjust to what they were, but I think after we did that we were able to take away their outside shooting and our defense got a little bit tighter,” coach Hofman said. “That’s what we typically do. First quarter is kind of about reading what the other team has and what they’re good at. Take that away, now what do they do?”
Ripon Christian will welcome sixth-seeded Kerman (21-11) in the quarterfinal round Thursday. The Lions, who are the runners-up in the CS Division IV playoffs, routed Vacaville Christian 84-51 in their NorCal opener.
