Basketball Recap: Union Mine Comes Up Short

Union Mine and Ripon squared off in some playoff action on Wednesday, but Union Mine had to settle for second. They took a 72-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Ripon Indians. The Diamondbacks were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Indians apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2022.

Matt Manfredi

Points

02/19/25 @ Ripon	23
02/06/25 vs Amador	17
02/04/25 vs Rosemont	13
01/31/25 @ Bradshaw Christian	9
01/29/25 vs Argonaut	21
+ 22 more games

When it comes to explaining why Union Mine lost, don't look at Matt Manfredi. Despite the final result, he went 10-for-16 on his way to 23 points and three steals. Manfredi continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Tyler Chambers, who went 5-for-11 en route to 14 points.

Ripon's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Marcus Madoski, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Madoski is becoming a predictor of Ripon's success: when he posts at least eight boards the team is 15-5 (and 3-6 when he doesn't). Ethan Baur was another key player, going 7-for-15 to rack up 17 points in addition to eight rebounds and five assists.

Union Mine's defeat dropped their record down to 15-14. As for Ripon, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 18-11.

Union Mine does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Ripon, they will square off against Casa Roble at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Casa Roble knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 14 contests -- so hopefully Ripon likes a good challenge.