Keller leads way with 22 points, four threes in first quarter

By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Riverside appeared to be rolling to an easy home win over Starkey after a half of play Thursday night.

But when the Spartans tied the game at 43 after a 14-3 run to start the third quarter, Rebels Coach Ben Wilson saw that he needed to rally the troops.

Wilson called a timeout to calm his team down, before the game slipped away. The tactic worked. The Rebels went on a 16-3 run to end the quarter and rode the momentum to a 79-66 win.

“We came out soft in the second half, playing to the score and not the game,” said Wilson. “We were getting sloppy out there, and we had to settle down and realize that the game wasn’t over.”

Riverside (6-4) shot well from the perimeter all night, making a number of key threes to extend runs.

Four Rebels scored in double digits. Kane Keller led the way with 22 points. Josh Tassin scored 15. Bobby Smith added 14, and Spencer Simon notched 10.

Keller said that the team lacked defensive intensity to begin the second half, and that only once it was corrected, it was possible to close the game out.

“We weren’t even playing defense,” said Keller. “We started helping out one another and we were able to close it out.”

Riverside started the game on fire from the field, scoring 28 points and hitting six three-pointers in the opening quarter. Keller hit four of those threes.

Starkey (0-7) trailed by eight near the end of the first half, but a Simon three closed out the second quarter to make it 40-29 at the half.

Keller said that offensively, the team is starting to really gel on the floor.

“We’re meshing as a team better than we were at the beginning of the year,” said Keller. “It’s opening up a lot more good shots for us.”

On Monday, East Iberville’s Earl Warren scored 35 points to lead the Tigers over Riverside, 81-40.

East Iberville outscored the Rebels 44-20 in the first half and sustained that momentum throughout the game.

Tassin led the Rebels with 13 points. Simon scored seven.