By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

METAIRIE — Herb McGee’s Riverside coaches and teammates like to call him “Plastic Man,” in reference to his prowess as a lockdown defender.

But these days, they may also refer to McGee by another name: “Mr. Clutch.”

McGee scored game-clinching points for the second time in the last six games, Cory Costanza hit six 3-pointers and Riverside overcame a 13-point second half deficit to win a thriller over John Curtis, 62-60, in a District 10-2A tiebreaker contested at Country Day Monday.

Curtis and Riverside split in two previous games to share the district title, setting up a tiebreaker game to determine which team would earn the district’s first place-share of power points. Riverside jumped into the No. 3 spot in the Class 2A power rankings with the victory, while Curtis stands as No. 7.

With 45 seconds left and the score tied at 60, Riverside wound down the clock and held for a late shot. The Rebels spread the floor and McGee took advantage of the space, taking his defender off the dribble and drawing a foul on a drive to the basket with 4.3 seconds left. He sank both free throws to give Riverside a two-point lead.

“Von was calling for the ball there, but I knew I could take my guy,” said McGee. “I knew he was gonna try to jump my right hand … I made the first (free throw) and they called time out to try and freeze me. Coach just told me to keep my head and stay calm, and I came back out and hit the second.”

Said Riverside coach Timmy Byrd, “Every time you start to doubt these kids, they show you that they’re champions.”

On Curtis’ final possession, the Patriots quickly pushed it up the floor and Raekwon James hoisted up a deep 3 that almost netted JCC the win — but it rimmed out, and the Rebels celebrated.

“I was running over to double team and I saw him shoot it. My heart dropped. I thought it was good,” said McGee.

Added Byrd, “I thought the shot was in. I saw it going in. They (Curtis) don’t quit. They’ve got great talent on that team and they’ve got a lot of fight in them.”

The near-miracle 3 capped a wild fourth quarter that saw the Rebels rally from a six-point deficit, then the Patriots rally back from eight down with two minutes left.

Riverside (21-5) would not have been in position to win but for a  season-best shooting-performance from Costanza, who hit five of his six 3-pointers in the second half, three in a fourth quarter stretch that saw the Rebels quickly erase Curtis’ lead.

“It probably was the best game I’ve played,” said Costanza, the Rebels’ lone senior. “I had confidence in my shot all game and things just went my way tonight.”

Curtis (19-7) led 30-29 early in the second half before seemingly blowing things open with a 14-2 run. Richard Durant drove for a layup, then Kai Morgan canned a 3 from the wing to give JCC a 35-29 lead. Malachi Dupre stole the ball and coasted in for a crowd-pleasing dunk, and James scored on a pull-up in the lane to make it 39-31. Another James bucket eventually made it 44-31 — the 13-point advantage marked the most either team has built on the other this season.

The Rebels ended the third on a 9-2 run to make it 44-38 headed into the fourth. Then the fireworks truly started.

Von Julien scored to cut the deficit to four, then Costanza canned a 3-pointer that made it 47-45. Dupre made a pair of free throws, but Julien answered at the other end.

Then Costanza buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Riverside its first lead of the second half. Julien then drove and found Malik Crowfield for a layup to give RA a 52-49 lead. At the other end, Costanza drew a charge, then chased his own defensive play by sinking a corner 3 off a McGee dish with three minutes left to make it 55-49.

“Cory Costanza was tremendous,” said Byrd. “Our lone senior came up huge tonight and got us back into the game. He did everything, making shots, blocking shots, drawing charges.”

Said Costanza, “We’ve got great guards. My shot felt good tonight, and they kept getting me to me for wide open looks.”

Riverside led by as many as eight but Curtis conceded nothing. Issac Banks scored on a put back to make it 59-54, then Durant forced a Rebels’ turnover that led to a quick Banks bucket with 125 left. McGee made one of two at the line before Durant slashed in for a score to make it 60-58, and with 45 seconds left, P.J. Lewis swooped in for a steal and layup to tie things up.

But as they’ve done many times, McGee and the young Rebels found a way to win.

“I didn’t think we played well for much of the night, or matched their mental or physical intensity,” said Byrd.

“We didn’t play as well as we should have with the lead at the end. But we found a way to win.”

Curtis coach Mike Kracjier called the game a good playoff warmup for both teams.

“I’m glad we got out of it with no injuries,” said

Kracjier. “We played hard tonight.”

He said that Julien, who Byrd has called the “best point guard in the state,” was able to assert control over the game once Riverside established a lead.

“I thought at that point, Von was able to go to work,” said Byrd. “(Curtis) couldn’t sit back on defense once we got ahead.”

Costanza finished with a game-high 18 points. McGee scored 14, Crowfield 12 and Julien 10.