‘A community experience’: Ripon Christian set to host D-V NorCal final Tuesday
The Ripon Christian boys basketball team thrives at home.
The Knights (26-7) are perfect when they have hosted games both in the regular season and playoffs this season.
Tuesday night, win or lose, they will play their final home game of the season as the Knights host the Northern California Division V final, welcoming Sierra-Tollhouse.
Ripon Christian, the No. 3 seed in Division V, played its first two NorCal games at home, blowing out Madera South and Kerman. The Knights traveled to University Prep in Redding on Saturday night and came away with a narrow 61-58 win.
Tuesday’s tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“It’s going to be a great community experience,” Knights coach Mark Hofman said. “I’ve got people from Idaho texting me, I got a guy from LA asking me about it. … They’re calling and texting me and asking me questions saying, ‘I might come back, I might come down for the game’ because they went to school here. They remember those days.”
This is the third time in the past five full seasons the Knights have played for a NorCal title. They lost to Sacramento Adventist in 2018 and beat Weed High in 2020.
Senior Eli Terpsma was a freshman on the team in 2020 that ended its season with a win. After losing in the section and state tournaments last year, he came back this year looking for postseason success.
“He’s much older. He’s a lot more mature,” Hofman said of the 6-foot-3 captain. “He was always motivated … but losses like that can really challenge to take your game to another level. (This year) He wanted to get Golden 1 Arena and beyond.”
The Knights may be without a key member of their rotation Tuesday night as post player Thys Van Der Hoek remains day-to-day, according to Hofman.
The senior, who battled to return from a knee injury and posted a double double in the Knights’ Division V section title win, injured his ankle the day before their second round game against Kerman. If Van Der Hoek can’t play, Jace Beidleman could see extended minutes again.
“As soon as I came into the gym, I was like, ‘I have to get to his points, his rebounds, I just have to be Thys and work as hard as I can.’” Beidleman said after last Tuesday’s win.
The No. 5 Chieftains (30-5) will play their second straight game in the 209. They upset top seeded Venture Academy on Saturday night, 71-55 to advance to Tuesday’s Division V regional final.
Tuesday’s game will be the second NorCal final the Knights host in their last three trips.
“When Sierra won, we went, ‘Okay, we get a home game. Wow,’” Hofman said. “After I watched film, they’re a very good team. They’re very fundamental, very skilled. They have a purpose when they play.”
The Knights’ last two NorCal final appearances were in Division VI. In that division, the season ends with the NorCal final but in Division V, a win means they advance to play the Southern California Division V champion at Golden 1 Center at noon on Saturday,
“Their parents and grandparents tell them about their basketball days,” Hofman said. “I’m sure they’re fully aware of the importance … they know it’s a big game.”
The team has not lost focus during its challenging NorCal postseason run with the possibility of a trip to the State Championship on the line.
“They are tough as nails, they don’t get rattled.” Hofman said.
This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 12:50 PM.
