The RHS boys basketball team has fought all year to get to the D4 sections, and they don’t plan on giving up any time soon. Ben Holt College Prep Academy came to Ripon to end their season, although RHS had other plans as they vanquished Ben Holt with a score of 63-39. However, concern looms over the RHS basketball team performance on Feb.14. 

The boys have struggled all season to start off strong, and that was showcased in the first half of the D4 sections game. Offensively, the team had struggled to get on the same page with one another as they had missed passes, many missed shots, and an ability to constantly turn the ball over. The Defense however had played spectacular all night as they forced multiple turnovers, and had forced the opposing team to miss many shots. Although, the offense wasn’t all doom and gloom the entire game, as in the second half the offense was able to get on track and put on their best performance of the night. This, along with an outstanding defense, led them to win by a 24 point difference. 

RHS head coach, Dean Balco, said in response to the offense’s performance in the first half, “Their best player was not playing, and the guys kinda took them lightly at that point. So they found out he wasn’t playing, and I mean their best player averages 25 points a game, so our guys kinda relaxed. It would have been a different game if he had played. We probably would have played harder[in the first half].”

However, players on the team do believe they will find a way to start off strong in their next game. 

“We do come out slow. We just need to come out with more energy. Senior guard, Bradley Reedy, states,” Hitting shots in the first half will help us come out with that energy, so I think just hitting shots is the key there.”

As the RHS boys basketball team advances in the playoffs, they will go to play Escalon on Feb.15.This team has all the talent in the world to continue winning in the playoffs.