PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP —
Statistically, the difference in Riverside’s 55-44 victory came at the free-throw line, where the Beavers had more than twice as many attempts as South and shot much better.
However, both coaches pointed to other factors as the main difference — factors that aren’t as easy to quantify.
In looking at some of the things that are easy to quantify, South converted six more field goals than the Beavers (8-5, 7-2) on Friday. But host Riverside, which stayed in the thick of the Premier Athletic Conference race, canned six treys as compared to one for the Rebels, and went to the line a whopping 34 times, hitting 23, as compared to just five of 16 for South (2-10, 1-6).
It was a huge turnaround for the Beavers, who had shot less than 30 percent from the line in a 74-66 loss to Mayfield on Tuesday.
“We might have practiced it a little bit,” Riverside coach Adam May said with a laugh before taking a more serious tone. “We did not play our best on Tuesday. I’ll be darned if we didn’t look like a basketball team tonight.”
“That was a big difference,” South coach Roy Infalvi Jr. said. “We talked at halftime about that; we were one-of-seven in the first half at the foul line and they were (10-of-14). We talked about how we do have to execute, make the foul shots. But that wasn’t the difference. I think their defensive pressure was the difference tonight.”
The Rebels went just 19 of 59 from the floor (32.2 percent). That percentage was actually slightly better than Riverside, which went 13 of 41, but with the six 3-point field goals.
“We really didn’t even press them tonight,” May said. “I think we pressed them twice, and one time they got a layup. I think the key was just the intensity.”
Adam Hockman scored 20 points for the Beavers, including three triples. Chandler Smith added 12 and a team-leading nine rebounds. That was more than enough to offset the efforts of the Rebels’ Kareem Hunt (2 blocked shots), who put in 16 of his 21 points in the second half, and grabbed seven of his nine boards in the fourth quarter.
Like the Beavers’ 66-65 verdict at South on Dec.11, this one did not come easy. After Riverside led 22-20 at the half on a drive by Jordan Aiken, the Rebels took the advantage three times, the final one coming at 28-27 when Hunt converted a layup off a pass from Harry Chakirelis (4 assists, 2 blocks). At that point, a three-point play by Hockman set off a 9-0 run that provided a 36-28 lead late in the third period.
The Beavers pushed that into double digits when Smith canned a trifecta to make it 43-32 in the first minute of the final period. However, an 8-1 stint that both started and ended with putbacks by Hunt brought South within 44-40 as the three-minute mark approached.
Riverside answered with seven-consecutive points on a spinning layup by Smith, a split pair of free throws by Hockman and two layups by Maxx Brubaker to make it 51-40 with 1:07 left.
“We just never stop coming at you,” May said. “It’s a next-guy-in mentality. We play 11 guys; nobody’s getting too tired. I preach, ‘Go two minutes, get a 30-second break. Go two minutes, get a 30-second break,’ and just keep running guys. And you see guys (on the other team) just run out of steam. We win games in the fourth quarter.”
“I’m a little disappointed in our execution offensively,” Infalvi said. “I was happy, with the most part, our defense. We did foul a little too much. But I thought we rebounded OK and defended pretty decently.”
Tony Walton had eight points and a game-high 10 boards for South. Teammate Ben Robinson blocked two shots. Marc Wadas had two blocks for Riverside.
“We talked this week about becoming closer — coming closer as a family, as a basketball team,” May said. “And we wrote on the board, in all capital letters, ‘TOGETHER WE CAN BE GREAT.’ Then we broke it down. We said, ‘TOGETHER,’ ‘CAN BE’ and ‘GREAT.’ Not good, we’re not there yet, and we’ve got to do it together. So there’s the three parts to it.
“I think the energy on the bench really spewed onto the floor. I think our kids just wanted to succeed for each other. And when you want to succeed for each other, you become a basketball team, and all of a sudden things look good. I think our guys really had fun tonight, so hopefully they learned something.”
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
Sports
Beavers toe the line for victory
Improved effort from charity stripe helps Riverside top South
- Sports
-
-
Wahoos whipped in a wacky one
The Indians treated Justin Verlander roughly on Wednesday night -- just not as rough as the Detroit Tigers treated Ubaldo Jimenez.
-
On to the next
History is not only a great teacher, but it can also serve as a great motivator. Last year, the Geneva softball team failed to win a game in the Division II postseason tournament.
-
A Bob Ettinger column: Big players deliver in big moments for Eagles, Falcons
Neither Geneva softball coach Eleshia Pitcher nor Jefferson skipper Don McCormack were surprised that, with their team’s fates hanging in the balance, they each had athletes deliver.
-
Scholastic Statistics:
SOFTBALL
DIVISION II
DISTRICT SEMIFINAL
Geneva 5, Jefferson 2
at JAGS Complex, Field 3 -
Geneva field events advance in Day 1
With the first day of events in the book at the Division I district meet at Austintown Fitch, the Geneva boys and girls track teams have several competitors already qualified for the regional meet next week at Fitch.
-
Scholastic Schedule:
THURSDAY, MAY 23
Baseball
Division I
at Serra Field, Stanic Field, Euclid
District semifinals
n (5) Riverside vs. (1) Mentor
n (8) South vs. (7) Mayfield -
A Don McCormack column: Letter hits home about mutual friend
Paying another visit to the varsity store...
From the heart
Whenever my inbox lights up, it’s usually never a dull moment.
But when the message comes from a state representative, it does require immediate attention. -
Area High School Softball Statistical Leaders:
INDIVIDUAL BATTING (minimum 40 at-bats)
PLAYER SCHOOL AVG OB% SLG% AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
Lexi Zappitelli Conneaut .605 .632 .921 76 28 46 22 6 2 23 17
Brittany Baitt Riverside .518 .560 .831 83 32 43 5 6 3 21 0
Deanna Comp Jefferson .511 .582 .851 47 17 24 6 2 1 10 9
Amanda Mangelo Madison .486 .537 .806 72 23 35 2 6 3 20 0
Nikki Ochoa Madison .476 .533 .890 82 29 39 12 2 6 23 0
Abbie Thompson Madison .453 .500 .523 86 23 39 0 3 0 13 0 -
Late rally can’t save PV at Euclid
The Pymatuning Valley Lakers’ baseball season came to a close on Tuesday night at Euclid as they fell to Wickliffe, 4-2, in a Division III district semifinal.
-
Area High School Softball records:
(throughTuesday)
TEAM OVERALL
Geneva 19-2 * 11-1 (PAC)
Riverside 22-4 9-3 (PAC)
Jefferson 21-5 * 9-1 (AAC)
St. John 9-3
Conneaut 13-7
Perry 12-7
PV 15-12 11-7 (NAC) - More Sports Headlines
-
Wahoos whipped in a wacky one
