The Ripon Christian Knights had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They took down Sonora 59-40. 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 matchup 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.
Several Wildcats players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Roger Edwards, who scored nine points along with three steals. Jack Sarina was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Ripon Christian's win bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Sonora, they bumped their record down to 5-8 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Ripon Christian will be home for the holidays to greet Gregori at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Sonora will be home for the holidays to greet Livingston at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.