Jacob Baca’s late three-pointer propels Mariposa boys into D-V semis

Dalton Rockwood spent most of Wednesday evening serving as the Mariposa boys basketball team’s top scoring option.

But with Ripon Christian doing everything in its power to deny Rockwood the ball in the second half, the senior forward turned playmaker. Ripon Christian and the Grizzlies went blow for blow in a high-octane, thoroughly entertaining basketball game that remained very much in the balance in the final minute.

With Mariposa clinging to a four-point lead, Rockwood let the shot clock tick down under 10 and then attacked the right wing of the Knight zone. He drew a pair of RC defenders to him, then pivoted and kicked to a wide open Jacob Baca in the corner. Baca caught and fired in one fluid motion, delivering the dagger in the No. 4 Grizzlies’ 78-75 victory over the fifth-seeded Knights in the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.

The victory sets up a road trip to top-seeded Bradshaw Christian, which beat Vacaville Christian 80-45, for a semifinal showdown on Friday night.

“That was such a big shot,” Rockwood said of Baca’s three. “The second half they switched to a 1-3-1 zone against us and it seemed to give us a little more trouble offensively. We started turning the ball over and Ripon Christian got back into the game.

“We were kind of having to scrape and claw for every point we got in the fourth quarter, so to get a clean look in that moment, and for him to knock it down, was unbelievable.”

In a game where defense appeared more suggestion than anything else, the two teams exchanged clutch shot for clutch shot for most of the second half.

Mariposa (22-4) shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half to take a 45-36 lead into intermission. The Rockwood brothers, Dalton and Noah, led the onslaught, combining for 28 points.

Ripon Christian’s switch of zones and denial of entry passes to Dalton Rockwood (team-high 25 points, seven rebounds, four steals) down low brought the Grizzly shooting percentages back down to Earth in the second half.

The Knights (18-8) had the lead down to five at the end of three and quickly tied things up 60-60 on a Ty Beidleman baby hook in the lane with 5:45 to play in the game. The RC post came to life in the fourth quarter with Beidleman (12 points) and Travis Vander Molen (11 points) combining for 16 points in the last eight minutes against a tiring Mariposa defense.

Ripon Christian could never get in front, however, thanks to the Grizzlies’ work on the offensive glass. Despite the Knights’ definitive size advantage, Mariposa got five big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, all of which led to points or someone getting put on the free throw line.

“That’s the problem with zone, it’s very hard to stay disciplined with you’re rebounding,” RC coach Mark Huffman said. “I think fatigue became a little bit of a factor, also. How could it not? Mariposa is pushing the ball up and down the court for the entire game, and they just keep coming at you.

“But it was a fun game and my kids fought incredibly hard.”

That much is certain. Baca’s three appeared to be the exclamation point on the game, giving Mariposa a 77-70 lead with 47 seconds left, but instead ended up being the difference as the Knights didn’t relent until the final buzzer.

RC’s Zach Cortright led all scorers with 27 points in the loss. Dillon Mah chipped in 14 points and Noah Rockwood finished with 13 and five steals for the Grizzlies.

“It was the exact kind of game I expected,” Mariposa coach Bob Jaekle said. “I think Ripon Christian scored 29 points against us in the first quarter the first time, so I was expecting an up-tempo game with a lot of offense.

“Ripon Christian did a great job keeping themselves in the game and never really letting us pull away. I think we’ve got a veteran group that’s been in those situations many times before and that got us the win.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Jacob Baca’s late three-pointer propels Mariposa boys into D-V semis."