The Ripon Indians came tearing into Wednesday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Livingston by a score of 67-54. Given Ripon's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 396th, while Livingston is ranked 1044th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ripon was led to victory by Landon Gillespie and Dawson Downs. Gillespie scored 16 points along with five rebounds, while Downs scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and six assists. Those six assists set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Baur, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Livingston lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Adrian Aguirre, who scored 16 points. Aguirre scored a full 29.6% of Livingston's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Joseph Theodore, who scored 12 points.
Livingston struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Ripon pulled down nine offensive rebounds.
Ripon pushed their record up to 12-5 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.0 points per game. As for Livingston, their loss dropped their record down to 5-12.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Ripon will take on Hilmar at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Livingston, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Hughson at 7:00 p.m. Hughson is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.
