Throwback Tuesday: Sisk, Ripon boys make most 3-pointerss since 2004

Kyle Sisk and Noah Hernandez had 22 points apiece as the Ripon High School boys basketball team established itself as the clear-cut favorite in the Trans-Valley League.

The Indians canned a season-high 14 3-pointers, including four off the hand of Sisk in the second quarter, setting in motion a 79-49 rout of Hilmar on Tuesday evening.

For perspective, the last time Ripon made that many 3s in one game, assistant coach Justin Graham was a junior point guard on a team that won 29 games and reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV final.

The year: 2004.

The victim: Mount Eden of Hayward, 95-51.

Today’s Indians (17-4, 6-0 TVL) are winning with the same style and frequency.

Tuesday’s match-up had the makings of a TVL tug-o-war, though. Ripon arrived as The Bee’s top-ranked small-school team, but the Indians looked vulnerable down the stretch in last week’s win over Ripon Christian, the defending league champion.

Fifth-ranked Hilmar (12-8, 4-2) looked to play the role of spoiler. The Yellowjackets buzzed with the momentum of a three-game winning streak and had a week to prepare for the Indians.

Perhaps Hilmar was a little too rested. Ripon scored the first 10 points and didn’t look back, sewing up its seventh straight victory by the end of the third quarter. Aaron Paschini cued the substitutes – and chants of “Warm up the bus” by the band – with a deep 3-pointer that made it 62-35.

Sisk was the star early. Camped out in the corners, the 6-foot junior benefited from the Indians’ ability to drive the lane. When the defense collapsed, Sisk readied himself for the kick-out pass. He knocked down back-to-back 3s to start the second quarter, then followed a corner 3 by Hernandez with one of his own to make it 30-15.

Hernandez and Sisk repeated that feat moments later as Ripon’s lead ballooned to 19.

Four players scored in double figures for Ripon, including 12 by Cole Stevens and 11 by Paschini, the stabilizing guards in Rod Wright’s uptempo offense.

Hernandez scored nine of his 22 points in the third quarter and finished with three 3s. The Modesto Christian transfer has scored 22 or more points in three straight games and leads the Indians with a 19.64 average.

Sisk had six 3-pointers. Stevens and reserve Derek Wright had two apiece.

The Indians’ 14 3-pointers were the program’s most since an 82-80 overtime victory over Ceres, The Bee’s fifth-ranked large-school team and the Western Athletic Conference’s co-leader, on Dec. 2. That night, Ripon knocked down 12 triples.

Jonas Tate paced Hilmar with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kole Gaglio had 13 points but had just one after halftime. Xavier Burke scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, including two 3s to start and finish the third quarter.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Yellowjackets, who shot poorly in an overtime victory at Escalon last week. Hilmar travels to Hughson on Friday and Riverbank next Tuesday.

Ripon has the rest of the week off. The Indians return to TVL play against Hughson on Tuesday and at rival Escalon on Feb. 3.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Throwback Tuesday: Sisk, Ripon boys make most 3-pointerss since 2004."