MODESTO – Ripon Christian battled through some early lead changes Friday night and never trailed after late in the first period on the way to a 53-44 third-round win over Manteca in Central Catholic’s Mark Gallo Tournament.
“We challenged the guys at halftime to increase their defensive intensity,” Knights coach Mark Hofman said. “I don’t think we started hard enough defensively to win a game against a good team like Manteca. So, as the game went on, that is what happened.
“These three- and four-day tournaments are mentally and physically draining, especially for us because we have a short bench. We play everybody, we just don’t have a lot of people to play right now. The big difference tonight is that we had a lot of players play well on the same night. Every year, we have a late start because of football, but if we start playing well on the same night, we will be tough to beat.”
Ripon Christian (6-2) turned up its intensity in the second half with eight blocked shots after two in the first half. Walker Postma (five rebounds, four points) tallied four of those blocks, with guards Amos Cady and Jake Vander Veen notching a block apiece in the second half.
Vander Veen finished with a team-high 19 points along with four rebounds.
“We played great together,” Vander Veen said. “Our guys are hitting shots, and we’re back in the groove of it, and I think we’re going to be a really good team.
“We had a tough loss Thursday, but we bounced back really well, and I think we are going to keep getting better.”
Cady put up 14 points along with six assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Cady dished out four assists in the final period.
“I have been playing with these guys since middle school,” Cady said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to get the ball to the right spots. We have been playing together so long, I think it’s hard not to do that.
“It all comes down to chemistry. We’re all good friends off the court, and on the court we all get along. It all comes down to running our offense, we’re good teammates, we’re unselfish and I think that’s a big reason we won tonight.”
Mason Tameling chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal for the Knights.
Ripon Christian was not able to pull away until midway through the fourth period.
“We were nipping at their heels, but we were not patient running our offense,” Buffaloes coach Geoff Israel said. “We wouldn’t do any jump stops, we would just throw it up. We told them that when we played these 6-5, 6-8 guys you can’t just go through their arms, because they are going to block it and they made blocks.
“It’s good to take these beatings, they’re going to learn.”
For the second night in a row, Johan Peringelil (28 points, four rebounds, steal assist) had all of the first-quarter points for Manteca (4-5), this time with 11.
“Johan is the most experienced guy on the team,” Israel said. “He has a lot of varsity minutes coming into this season.
“He played a lot for me on the lower levels, and he’s a guy I trust. He has the most heart and passion on the team.”
The Knights play Burbank for fifth place today at 3:30 p.m. at the Mark Gallo Health and Fitness Center. Preceding that game at 2, the Buffaloes play Chavez for seventh place.
