Preview: Ripon Christian Knights vs. Gregori Jaguars
Ripon Christian is 3-0 against Gregori since December of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Ripon Christian Knights will be home for the holidays to greet the Gregori Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Even though Ripon Christian has not done well against Sonora recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The stars were shining brightly for Ripon Christian in a 59-40 victory over Sonora. Given Ripon Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 383rd, while Sonora is ranked 819th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ripon Christian found their leader in underclassman Jake Vander veen, who scored 22 points. The match was Vander veen's ninth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jace Beidleman, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Gregori ultimately got the result they hoped for last Monday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 64-61 victory over Bradshaw Christian. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Gregori found their leader in underclassman Jayson Powers, who scored 39 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. The matchup was Powers' 11th in a row with at least ten points. Zack Tooze was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Ripon Christian's victory bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Gregori, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Ripon Christian have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.9 threes per game. It's a different story for Gregori, though, as they've been averaging only 5.7 threes per game. Given Ripon Christian's sizeable advantage in that area, Gregori will need to find a way to close that gap.
Ripon Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Gregori in their previous meeting on December 7th, but they still walked away with a 65-60 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Powers, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Ripon Christian still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
