With the boys high school basketball season more than halfway over, it is time to look at how Ripon High has fared so far. The RHS varsity boys basketball team has not been able to do as well as many would have hoped as they have only won five games up to this point. Many factors have gone into this slow start for the team though, including injuries and key players graduating from the season prior. The team did show great potential though on Jan.9 as they lost to River Islands with a score of 52-45.
Heading into the game, Ripon High was on a three game losing streak and needed a win against River Islands to get back on track. That was evident as shown through the first few minutes of the game as the defense was able to consistently hold off shots from River Islands inside the lines. This gave Ripon’s offense time to get going, as three pointers were a major part of Ripon’s success in the first quarter. In the second quarter the team was able to capitalize on River Islands penalties, and while Ripon was not able to hit as many three point shots as the first quarter, they were able to hit several two point shots. Defensively, Ripon began to have problems with penalties but outside of penalty shots for River Islands, Ripon was able to contain their offensive attack. Heading into halftime, the score was 27-20 with RHS feeling good.
Junior center and forward Cooper Morino, stated on the strong start by the team,“We needed to bring more fire and bring more energy to these games. So out of the gate we just out hustled more.”
Despite the strong start in the first half, things began to unravel for the team in the second half. The offense struggled to hit their shots as they only scored eight points in the third quarter, and six of those points were three point shots from Junior guard Sam Stewart. Meanwhile the defense for Ripon struggled to stop field goal shots from River Islands and were unable to force turnovers for the offense. By the end of the third quarter the score was 35-37 with River Islands taking the lead.
With one quarter left and it only being a two point game, Ripon still had light to pull out a win. Stewart continued his impressive three point showing in the fourth quarter to keep Ripon in range of River Islands. However, consistent penalties on the defensive side of the ball allowed River Islands to feast on free throw attempts, ending Ripon’s chances of coming out with a win. The game ended with a score of 52-45.
Stewart said after the teams lose to River Islands, “I think we just need to come together and all play team basketball right now. We have a little bit of individualism sometimes, but I think once we all come together, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
While the end result of this game wasn’t what fans were hoping for, the first half performance by Ripon should excite fans for the future of the team. If they can fix their penalty issues and have more consistency in shooting, then this team can return back to competing in the playoffs.
