By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Riverside rebounded from its first round loss to Grace King at the Riverside Holiday Classic by defeating Starkey last Thursday, 77-41. But the Rebels went on to lose two heartbreakers at the tournament on Friday and Saturday, first falling 58-55 to De La Salle and then 68-65 to Crescent City Baptist.

Kane Keller’s 22 points paced Riverside in its win over Starkey. Josh Tassin and Spencer Simon each added 12.

Riverside (9-9) lit up the scoreboard in the first quarter with 34 points, and would carry a 43-20 lead into halftime. From there, the Rebels increased their advantage in each of the third and fourth quarters.

“We came out focused,” said Riverside Coach Ben Wilson. “We wanted to focus on our defense and we did that. We knew our defense would lead to our offense, and eventually the points would come.

Riverside had defeated Starkey on one previous occasion this season, a 79-66 win at home.

“The last time, they scored 66 on us. We knew what to expect from their offense, and were able to limit them more this time,” Wilson said.

Riverside again came out shooting well the next day against De La Salle, leading 31-24 at halftime.

But De La Salle came on strong in the second half, and led 55-52 with only seconds left.

Keller tied the game with a 3-pointer to force overtime, but Riverside couldn’t wrest away the victory in the extra period.

Bobby Smith led Riverside with 17 points. Tassin and Keller each scored 15.

Wilson felt that a number of mental lapses in the second half cost his team dearly.

“Take nothing away from De La Salle, but we gave the game away,” said Wilson. “We had too many mental breakdowns, and it killed us.”

Riverside’s next game was no less disappointing. After falling behind by 11 early against Crescent City, Riverside stormed back to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

But Crescent City had a chance to win outright before overtime, and cashed in on a last second 3-point basket.

“They had three players who scored 20 points, and the one guy we weren’t worried about killed us,” Wilson said. “We didn’t respond to the De La Salle loss like we should have, and Crescent City popped us. We made a good run late, but it was not enough.”

Smith led Riverside with 32 points. Keller added 15.