By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — For the first time in a long time, Riverside found itself the smaller of the two teams on the court as it hosted a Scotlandville team garnering national attention Monday night.

That size advantage proved critical down the stretch for the Hornets, who wore down the Rebels in the fourth quarter to turn a nip-and-tuck game into a 72-60 victory, handing Riverside its first loss of the young season.

“They got some easy baskets underneath with their bigs,” said Riverside coach Timmy Byrd. “That’s a really good team. We can’t make mistakes and get away with them against those guys. I didn’t feel like we had our legs underneath us … We didn’t shoot the ball well at all.

“When you play a big, physical team like that, they wear you down and they take your legs from you … as a coach, you aren’t really surprised when you shoot a lower percentage than usual.”

Six Hornet players scored in double figures, led by Trelon Banks’ 16 points. Hendrick Foster scored 13. Jared Sam (12), Brian Bridgewater and Damion Jones (11 each) and Vincent Sanders (10) rounded out the top scorers for Scotlandville, which began the season ranked 16th in the MaxPreps national “Xcellent 25” poll.

Malik Crowfield scored 19 to lead Riverside (2-1). Jordan Andrews added 11 and Khalea Turner 10 for the Rebels (2-1).

Scotlandville (5-1) trailed 43-42 late in the third quarter after a Crowfield go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:22 left in the period — though Riverside was never out of striking distance, that was the Rebels’ first lead since 3-2.

But the Hornets began to successfully pound the ball inside, powering a 15-4 run over the next four minutes of play that netted them a 57-47 lead and control of the game.

The Rebels trailed 46-44 early in the fourth when Bridgewater made a tip-in. Von Julien answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the Rebels’ deficit to one, but Sam scored inside to make it 50-47. Sanders stuck a 3 in transition to push the lead to 53-47, prompting a Riverside timeout.

It wouldn’t stem the bleeding, however. Bridgewater scored inside to make it 55-47. Foster got to the line and sunk two free throws to make it 57-47.

Jordan Andrews scored on a drive to give the Rebels a spark, but again Scotlandville pushed the ball inside and Sam drew a foul; he sunk both shots from the line to make it a 10-point game again.

Crowfield scored once more to cut into the Hornet advantage, but Scotlandville could now slow the game and force Riverside to foul. The Hornets gave no window of opportunity for a comeback — Scotlandville sank 13 of 14 free throws total in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

Bridgewater, a 6-foot-5-inch transfer from Episcopal and Jones, a 6-foot-9-inch Vanderbilt commitment, are the most highly touted of Scotlandville’s bigs.

But Sam brought a third impact game from a big to the table; his energy and overall focused play was a big difference, said Scotlandville coach Carlos Sample.

“All three bigs did good work, especially Sam,” said Sample. “He played with a little more will. He was decisive tonight.”

Riverside scored immediately after winning the opening tip, Andrews canning a 3 from the wing within four seconds to put RA ahead.

But after the Hornets got on the board via a Jones dunk, Scotlandville began to get their offense going from the outside. Foster nailed a 3 to make it 7-4, then Sanders another to make it 11-7. Foster sunk the Hornets’ third 3 of the first quarter to make it 14-10.

“(Foster) shooting the way he did was something we didn’t expect. He didn’t shoot it as well on the film we saw,” said Byrd. “He made a big difference for them.”

Said Sample: “We hit a few outside shots and that forced them to play us honest and spread their defense a bit. We started getting open entry passes into the paint.”

The Rebels kept pushing back. A Julien layup tied the game at 18 in the second quarter, but Sanders answered with a 3 and Bridgewater scored inside to make it 23-18.

Herb McGee made a layup to pull RA within one, but Foster and Jones made back-to-back buckets.

With under a minute left in the first half, Jordan Andrews scored on an assist from Cory Costanza.

Andrews stole the ball on Scotlandville’s ensuing possession and made a layup to make it a 27-26 Hornet lead at the half.

“I thought (Andrews) played really well tonight,” said Byrd.

Scotlandville led 42-36 in the fourth before a scoring binge by Crowfield netted RA the lead; he scored on three consecutive jumpers to score seven straight Rebel points.