Ripon played a familiar foe to start the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs on Tuesday, but Ben Holt College Prep Academy wasn’t quite the same team the Indians faced over winter break.
Tayden Collins, one of the top scorers and rebounders in the Section, was sidelined with an ankle injury, and fourth-seeded Ripon rolled to a 63-39 victory.
Bradley Reedy paced the Indians (22-7) with 14 points, making four of his team’s nine 3-pointers. Landon Gillespie contributed 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Ripon dominated the boards, 50-16, with its quartet of rangy forwards Ty Herrin (seven points, 10 rebounds, six assists), Dawson Downs (three points, eight rebounds, two blocks), Marcus Madoski (eight points, 12 rebounds, two steals) and Jack Schoolland (six points, six rebounds).
The two teams previously met in the championship game of the Holt Academy Tournament, which Ripon won with one of its best games of the season, 69-47. The No. 13 Bobcats (22-7) from Stockton since won 10 of their final 11 games in the regular season, claiming the Mountain Valley League title.
The 6-foot-5 Collins, a senior, averaged 27.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.9 blocks. Holt Academy coach Joseph Smith said he sustained “a really bad sprain” in practice Monday night.
Coming off a loss to rival Ripon in the Trans-Valley League finale, Ripon coach Dean Balcao had some concern going into the postseason opener, especially with two of his own key players — junior guards Logan Lefebvre and Ethan Bauer — out with ankle sprains.
“We prepared all day yesterday for (Collins),” Balcao said. “I didn’t find out until literally right before the game. He’s not warming up and we’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ When I looked at the book, I saw he wasn’t in the starting lineup.
“I think we let our guard down a little bit. Took them a little too lightly because their best player is not playing. Nothing is easy in the playoffs. I told them if we don’t shoot the ball well and they shoot the ball well, it’s a game no matter what our seeds are.”
Ripon did had trouble getting untracked, struggling with turnovers and cold outside shooting against Holt Academy’s zone defense.
It was 4-4 halfway through the opening period, and the Indians eventually got a groove to take a 14-6 lead into the second quarter and a 25-13 advantage into halftime. Ripon started the second half on a 10-0 run and the rout was on.
“We shot a lot better in the second half,” Balcao said. “We kind of come out slow — that’s been our M.O. We have to come out better, get stops off the bat just to get going.
“We were on track to shoot 36 3s in this game. At halftime we said let’s get the ball inside. We were able to get the ball in and out, in and out and got good shots.”
Holt Academy was led by Jamal Wilkes and Brandon Stinson, who scored eight points apiece. The Bobcats battled valiantly with scrappy defense but ultimately could not make up for the scoring and rebounding deficit caused by the untimely injury to their star player.
“It probably would have been a lot different,” Smith said. “It changes us tremendously, because he has been carrying us all season. He has been averaging 28 points a game, 14 rebounds. If you add his 28 points to the final score, we’re a lot closer. He means a lot to us.”
Now, Ripon gets to take on yet another familiar opponent, which so happens to be its oldest rival.
TVL counterpart Escalon visits Thursday for a quarterfinal showdown. The winner qualifies for a NorCal berth. The No. 5 Cougars (23-6) took care of No. 12 Marysville in their opener, 63-53.
“The last two Escalon games could have gone either way,” Balcao said. “They were three-point games, and we were able to make a couple plays in the end. I know they’re going to be ready for us and want to beat us bad. It’s hard to beat a team three times. Whatever happened in league is the past.”
