The Riverbend boys basketball team entered Friday night’s Region 5D championship game on cloud nine, fresh off clinching the first state tournament berth in program history and seemingly poised to win its first regional crown.
Unfortunately for the top-seeded Bears, that cloud dissipated early in the contest.
Max Lawson poured in 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, and visiting Riverside built a 15-point halftime lead and was never seriously threatened on its way to an 86-61 victory.
“I thought we were capable of playing with them,” Riverbend head coach Nat Jackson said. “And then I think we had some careless unforced turnovers early on which gave them the opportunity to score [27] points in the first quarter.”
Lawson scored 14 of the No. 2 seed Rams’ first-period points, helping them build a 27-13 advantage. The junior guard showcased his long-distance shooting skills right from the tipoff, sinking four of his nine 3-pointers in the first stanza and connecting on two more in the second as Riverside (26-1) took a 42-27 lead into intermission.
Trailing by as much as 20 on multiple occasions in the third quarter, the Bears (18-7) tried to rally late in the period thanks to the play of Donovan Tate. The senior forward tallied 11 of his team-high 21 points in the frame, including a layup followed by a free throw that pulled Bend within 59-47 with a minute to go.
But Bellal Shirzay drained a trey from the left corner just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded, and Mason Ridgeway’s three-point play and a tough bucket in the lane from Josh Ntiamoah in the lane restored the Rams’ 20-point advantage at 67-47 barely over a minute into the fourth period.
Ridgeway finished the evening with 22 points.
“That 3 in the corner at the end of the [third quarter] was kind of like a back breaker,” Jackson said. “Because at that point you’ve already dug yourself a hole against a good team, and you have to play damn-near perfect just to come back and win the game.”
Senior guard Nate Tyler scored 13 points to complement Tate’s big night for the Bears, while senior forward Amani Gipson chipped in 11.
Now Riverbend must turn its attention to the Class 5 state quarterfinals, where it will have to hit the road to play Albemarle on Tuesday. The Patriots (23-3) defeated L.C. Bird 53-41 in the Region 5C title game on Friday night in Charlottesville.
“I told the guys after the game that both the Riverside game and this Albemarle one are really like a litmus test for us right now as far as where our program is at,” said Jackson, who’s squad went just 6-14 a season ago. “We want to see where we stack up against these kinds of teams, because our goals have always been to compete for a district, regional and state championship every single year.”
Riverside 25 17 20 24 — 86
Riverbend 13 14 20 14 — 61
Riverside (26-1): Johnny Dadant 1, Josh Ntiamoah 5, Brady Peterson 9, Max Lawson 30, Grayson Munsey 0, Bellal Shirzay 5, Joell Basue 12, Sep Duggal 0, Mason Ridgeway 22, Dev Arora 2, Noah Blubaugh 0. Totals: 31 11-16 86.
Riverbend (18-7): Kaeden Hardison 0, Nate Tyler 13, Noah Jackson 3, Chris Eggleston 4, JoJo Thomas 0, Trè King 5, Tucker Lattimore 4, Amani Gipson 11, Donovan Tate 21, Jaivion Rose 0. Totals: 24 9-17 61.
3-pointers: Riverside 13 (Lawson 9, Ridgeway 2, Peterson, Shirzay). Riverbend 4 (Tyler 2, Jackson, Lattimore).
Thursday’s game
Girls basketball
Region 3B championship
James Monroe 64, Brentsville 34
The host Yellow Jackets continued their march toward a Class 3 state title with a blowout win over the Tigers.
Kiyah Lewis continued her tear, scoring a game-high 30 points to lead James Monroe. The senior forward had 24 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s region semifinal victory over Meridian.
The top-seeded Jackets (23-0) also got 15 points from senior forward Daysha Salgado in Thursday’s win.
Lewis recorded all of her points in just three quarters of action. She had eight points and Salgado tallied seven in a first period where Jayem jumped out to a 24-8 lead. She added 13 more in the second frame as that advantage swelled to 43-17 at intermission.
By the time Lewis exited the game after the third quarter, she’d singlehandedly outscored Brentsville 30-29.
The No. 2 seed Tigers (19-5), who were seeking their third consecutive regional crown, were paced by Payton Brown’s 11 points.
The Jackets will open the state tournament with a home game against Region 3A runner-up Hopewell (15-5) on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Brentsville 8 9 12 5 — 34
James Monroe 24 19 17 4 — 64
Brentsville (19-5): Payton Brown 11, Ava Garza 7, Natalie Marvin 4, Macie Mayes 3, Brooke Miller 8, Anna Holm 0, Riley Coombs 1, McKenna Meares 0. Totals: 13 3-8 34.
James Monroe (23-0): Jaylah Black 0, Melanie Johnson 5, Alexia Robinson 8, Jaziah Banks 0, Kiyah Lewis 30, Fine’ Swain 0, Laila Taylor 5, Mya Johnson 0, T.C. Cole 0, Harmony Jones 1, Daysha Salgado 15. Totals: 27 8-15 64.
3-pointers: Brentsville 5 (Brown 2, Garza, Mayes, Miller). James Monroe 2 (Lewis, Taylor).
