Ripon Christian’s boys basketball team has advanced to eighth straight Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal and NorCal appearance after a hard-earned 52-46 win over sixth-seeded Colfax on Friday.
“That felt like a section (championship) game,” Ripon Christian coach Mark Hofman said.
Getting there is a bit tougher now that the 13-time champion is in Division IV, and it doesn’t get any easier next Tuesday at No. 2-seeded Casa Roble (26-4).
The Knights were mostly untested in claiming their last two SJS titles in Division V, and they blew out every postseason opponent on the way to a NorCal Division VI title just before the coronavirus shutdown in 2020.
“This is the first time we’ve been in D-IV, so we know it’s going to be different than last year when we kind of cruised through D-V,” junior guard Jake Vander Veen said after scoring a game-high 19 points in the quarterfinal victory. “This year, we have to step up to the competition, so we’ve been going hard in practice, and the hard work is paying off.”
Seeded third, Ripon Christian (24-5) needed a lunch-pail effort to overcome a tough shooting night and a battle-hardened Colfax team that went on an 11-0 burst out of halftime for a 27-19 lead.
The Falcons (21-9) had everything going for them during that 4 1/2-minute flurry with point guard Diego Maldonado leading the way. He made four 3s and finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Josiah Sheets, a load at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, added 10 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and two steals despite early foul trouble.
Ripon Christian center Walker Postma keyed a late third-quarter push that kept his team in reach. He scored back-to-back buckets for the Knights, including a two-handed dunk off a feed from Chase Bunnell, then blocked a 3-point shot that led to a fastbreak bucket for Vander Veen. Colfax’s lead was trimmed to 31-29 by the end of the quarter. The 6-9 Postma ended with seven points, eight boards and two blocks.
While Vander Veen scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, it was the energy and aggression from Bunnell that gave Ripon Christian a needed boost down the stretch. The Knights’ super sub accounted for six consecutive points that tied the score at 35-35 with 5:11 to go. Ripon Christian then took the lead for good when Bunnell spotted an open Mason Tameling for a 3-pointer.
The Knights outscored Colfax 26-15 in the final period, keeping the Falcons at bay by hitting nine of 16 free throws in the last two minutes.
“(Bunnell) started it off with that personal six-point run,” Vander Veen said. “He gave us the spark that we needed. I got into it in the fourth quarter, we locked in on defense and finished the job. It may not have been pretty, but we got that out of the way and we’re moving on.”
Tameling contributed 10 points and knocked down Ripon Christian’s only two 3s of the game. Amos Cady added nine points, seven rebounds and two steals. E.J. Bruno did not score but grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with two steals.
Bunnell finished with eight points off the bench.
“We can be down 20, and I still believe that we can come back,” Bunnell said. “I just love my role. I was starting earlier (in the season), but I got moved to the bench and I like coming in to provide a spark.”
Hofman gave a nod to the men next to him on the bench. He credited his assistants for advising that they go to a four-guard lineup with Bunnell on the floor in place of Postma in the fourth quarter. This adjustment allowed more space for Vander Veen to operate off the dribble and get better shots in the paint.
“Two bigs weren’t doing us any good. Defensively, maybe, but we couldn’t score,” Hofman said. “These are the adjustments my bench made. My assistants are watching all the data and making those calls.”
The Golden Empire League’s co-champions are two of the four teams remaining in the SJS Division IV bracket. While Ripon Christian heads to Orangevale to face Casa Roble, top-seeded Natomas (23-7) hosts No. 5 Venture Academy (22-7) in the other semifinal. The winners face off for the championship Thursday starting at 4 p.m. at Golden 1 Center.
