Attacking Rebels fell ESJ
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 16, 2010
By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
After suffering its fifth loss of the season at St. Thomas More last week, Riverside coach Timmy Byrd lamented his team’s willingness to settle on perimeter jumpers as opposed to getting the ball to the basket.
No more, say the Rebels.
Riverside came out with a more aggressive attitude on Tuesday night and came away with a 93-74 win over rival East St. John in a non-district game in front of a packed Rebel gym.
“Everyone’s been talking about this game for a few days. It’s a real big rivalry,” said Riverside point guard Kyle McClue. “This (atmosphere) takes it to another level.”
After a close first half, Riverside (20-5) turned a four-point lead early in the second half into a 16-point advantage entering the fourth.
But the one constant throughout the night was Riverside’s willingness to take the ball to the basket – the Rebels shot 57 free throws, making 37. East St. John (8-12) was whistled for 23 fouls in the first half alone on a night where physical play ruled. The Wildcats made it to the line for 23 attempts.
“We’re not settling for jumpers anymore,” said Byrd. “We’re changing our style and attacking the basket. We’ve got a stud inside in Rico (Gathers), Louis Dabney can get to the basket, so can Cedric (Jenkins).
“East St. John played a real physical game, and they’ve got a lot of players. They can play that way. I was proud of how our guys responded.”
Gathers led the Rebels with 24 points. Jenkins and Dabney each scored 17.
Kaylon Placide led East St. John with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Chester Victor IV, D’haquille Williams and Khari Milton each added 11.
East St. John took a four-point lead midway through the second quarter after Placide got on a roll, scoring first on a drive, then on back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 31-27.
Riverside regained the lead, but a Victor 3-pointer put ESJ back ahead 37-35. But the Rebels ended the half on a 12-0 run, highlighted by six points by Kyle McClue.
The Wildcats quickly got back into things early in the second half on 3-pointers by Placide and Kalen Henderson. Milton would keep ESJ in it by scoring three baskets of his own.
But after a Milton putback cut Riverside’s lead to 58-52, the Rebels ripped off another big run, a 12-2 surge that started with a pair of Donald Thomas buckets and ended with a Franklin Francois 3-pointer with three seconds left in the third quarter.
ESJ would not get within single digits.
“I think we let the hype of the crowd rush our game a little,” said Dabney. “We slowed down in the second half, looked down low for Rico, and ran our offense. Things opened up for us from there.”
And with the second half of the season looming, a more aggressive Riverside team may be an unwelcome sight for future foes.
“We learn from our mistakes,” said McClue. “We want to be the aggressor, make them put us on the line, get them in foul trouble – and not let it happen the other way around anymore.”