RC boys hoops win first NorCal title since 1994 with victory over Weed High
Before their biggest game of the season on Tuesday, the Ripon Christian boys basketball team went for a walk.
The Knights had traveled nearly 300 miles north to Weed High School to face the Cougars in the CIF State NorCal Division VI Championship and Ripon Christian coach Mark Hofman said the team took a stroll through the woods.
“It helped us loosen up and our effort was outstanding in the first quarter,” Hofman said.
The effort remained strong for the next three quarters as the Knights beat the Cougars, 79-42, to win the school’s fourth NorCal title and first since 1994.
There is no state championship for Division VI so Ripon Christian’s season has concluded.
“This team has gotten along really well all season,” Hofman said. “They accept the role they each have and know how important it is.”
Ripon Christian (26-7) led 13-7 after the first quarter and Hofman said his team started working inside and outside to take the game over in the second. The Knights outscored the Cougars (23-5), 29-16 in the second and 16-5 in the third.
The Knights made eight 3-pointers and six players had at least one.
The game was extra special for senior Jacob Van Groningen and juniors William Gilbert and Braden Van Groningen.
The trio were on the 2018-19 team which lost to Sacramento Adventist in the NorCal title.
Braden Van Groningen led all scorers with 26 points while Jacob Van Groningen had 13 points and Gilbert had 12.
Junior Reed Van Der Hoek also played great for the Knights and had five blocks and double-digit rebounds.
RC frustrated the Cougars with its defense all night long.
“I have always been proud of our man defense but this year, we’ve played aggressive zone defense,” Hofman said. “They (Weed) couldn’t get outside shots.”
Since their 70-64 loss to Ripon on Feb. 14, the Knights won all of their games by at least 19 points including a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI title over Stockton Christian on Feb. 27.
Hofman said the team recovered quickly after that loss and played great basketball.
Their final game of the season was an example of what made the Knights so tough all season.
Balanced on offense, tough to score on, and resilient with any issues that came their way.
The Ripon Christian Knights are champs once again.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 9:42 PM.
