Playing in front of a loud home crowd, Orestimba High boys’ basketball team fell to Ripon Christian High, 70-30, in its senior night matchup on Wednesday at Kerry McWilliams Memorial Gymnasium.
The Warriors extended its losing streak 13 games as the team fell to 6-21 overall and remained winless in Trans-Valley League play at 0-11. The Knights improved to 17-10 overall and 10-1 against TVL opponents to remain at the top of the league standings.
Leading all scorers was Ripon Christian’s Jake Vander Veen with 20 points, including two 3-pointers. Orestimba head coach Donald Dudley praised Vander Veen’s performance, calling him a “hell of an athlete.”
“[Ripon Christian] got a really good player,” Dudley said. “I think they showed that they shoot the ball very well. We left them a little too open and gave them a lot of easy shots.”
The Knights took advantage of the Warriors’ on both sides of the ball as they shot 53% from the field while forcing Orestimba to attempt contested shots, which led to the Warriors shooting 23%.
Additionally, Ripon Christian kept on moving the ball for efficient shot attempts as the team finished with 18 assists to Orestimba’s eight.
The Warriors tied the game at 10 after making back-to-back 3 pointers, erupting uproar from the student section. The Knight, in response, quieted the crowd with six straight points to end the first quarter. In the following period, Ripon Christian showed why they’re the best team in the TVL as their momentum propelled them to a 20-3 run halfway through the second quarter, which later resulted in a 43-19 lead at halftime.
The Knights continued to move the ball while full-court pressing the Warriors’ players as they mounted a 63-24 lead entering the fourth quarter, eventually holding on to win.
While this season hasn’t gone what he had planned, Dudley said the player’s development has been the biggest improvement he’s seen from the start of the season until now. He mentioned Rudy Corona’s improvement as an all-around scorer and how Richie Rivas went from not playing last season to becoming a starter the following year.
“I saw a lot of kids rise up to the occasion on several games and do things that [are] out of their comfort zone,” he said. “It was just really impressive to see that as the season went on.”
Orestimba will travel to Escalon High (16-11) (7-4 TVL) on Friday for its final game of the season at 7 p.m.
