SACRAMENTO — Following an abysmal first half Saturday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V boys basketball championship, Ripon Christian took the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter and the last time toward the end of the period. The Knights hung on down the stretch thanks to clutch free-throw shooting by Eli Terpsma that gave the Ripon Christian a 58-54 win over Fortune Early College at Golden 1 Center.

“We were playing individual basketball in the first half,” Knights coach Mark Hofman said. “One-on-one and we were not patient enough. So we decided at halftime that the team on the court in the first half was not our team. That is not what we work on in practice, that is not how we play, that is not our style and we are not good at that style. You have to have patience, move the ball, cut, throw two or three passes and then things will open up.

“I also challenged them to not be scared. It’s a big gym, a new place, it’s a noon game – I understand. I told them they were going to have to fight through that and that I wanted to see a different team in the second half. I was told as they came out of the locker room that their faces were different and they just came out and did it.”

Coming from behind is nothing new to this Ripon Christian team that started the season 8-7 and has now won 15 in a row to run its record to 23-7.

“They have been doing this all year,” Hofman said. “We have been down multiple games at halftime and came back like today. We make some adjustments, they respond, they are highly intelligent, they take the hard coaching and implement it.”

The Panthers (20-8) from Sacramento tied the game at 50-50 with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Tyrece Rose (11 points).

Enter Terpsma, who finished with a game-high 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks. A senior and the lone holdover from the Knights’ 2020 Section championship team, Terpsma hit his first two of six free throws down the stretch with 1:25 remaining to make the score 52-50, followed that up with a field goal for a 54-50 lead and added two more free throws making the score 56-50 with 14.6 seconds left.

Fortune Early College was not done. Six seconds later Tyree Rose (13 points) was fouled on a successful 3-pointer and converted the free throw to draw the Panthers within 56-54. Terpsma was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass and hit two more free throws with 8 seconds on the clock, and fittingly he grabbed the rebound as the last shot by the Panthers was off the mark.

“I was thinking that in order for us to win this game I had to make those free throws,” Terpsma said. “And I was confident because of the work I have put in during practice, after practice and on Saturdays here and there.

“Knowing that my shooting wasn’t completely on today, I had heard from a lot of people who know basketball that when that happens free throws is where you can make it up. That was my thought process in the fourth quarter.”

After trailing 25-17 at halftime following a six-point second quarter, Ripon Christian exploded for a 21-8 third period due in no small part to the pinpoint shooting of Luke Crivello (12 points) who drained three from behind the arc in the third quarter.

“I know in our game against Leroy Greene (Academy), I struggled with my shots,” Crivello said. “And after getting shut out in the first half today I knew I had to step up big. We had been struggling and after I made the first one in that third quarter I just kept going.

“We have been working toward this all year long.”

The Knights defense was on point in that third period as well when they held Fortune Early College to just eight points with Thys Van Der Hoek (14 points, three steals, block) getting six of his 10 rebounds in the third quarter. Van Der Hoek has recently returned to action after recovering from a dislocated knee in the final football game of the year and although he only sees limited action, when he is on the court his imposing 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame forms a twin-towers look with 6-foot-7 Jace Beidleman (four points, 15 rebounds, four blocks).

“Going into halftime we were challenged as a team to play like a team and not play hero ball,” Van Der Hoek said. “So, I knew I had to do what me team needed me to do and that was getting boards and putting the ball back into the hoop.

“When you see the ball go up and hit the rim, you position yourself so you can get the ball. That takes a lot of work to be able to do that.”

Christian Barrett led Fortune Early College with 18 points behind four 3-pointers.

Ripon Christian next hosts Madera South on Tuesday as the No. 3 seed in the California Interscholastic Federation Division V Northern Regional Championships. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.