The Pirates got the road win, but they had to earn it.
Riverside defeated Benjamin Logan 74-59 in non-league boys basketball
action on Tuesday night.
The Pirates used plenty of speed and good shooting to build up a big cushion of 20 points in the first half. However, Ben Logan showed resolve, eventually cutting the lead to single
digits before Riverside closed it out.
The Raiders fall to 0-3 on the season, while Riverside improves to 2-1.
Riverside had four players in double digits, led by Jaxon Woods with 21
and Gavin Orsborne with 19. Brody Orsborne and Landon Purtee each finished with 10.
“I thought we controlled the pace of play in the first half,” said Riverside coach Tim Woods. “I feel like we’re still not in quite good enough shape. I think we exerted a little too much energy, and (Ben Logan) made some runs. That’s the game of basketball.”
Woods said the Pirates favor an up-tempo style. “It’s fun for the kids, and it’s fun for me to coach that way,” he said. He also praised the job of the defense at the end. “That’s kind of been our Achilles heel is being able to lock some teams up. Doesn’t do us any good going into league play if we can’t play some defense. The TRC is strong.”
For the Raiders, Camden Spriggs put in 19 from the low post and Maddox Vermillion hit five 3- pointers to finish with 17. “I was really proud of them in the second half,” said Ben Logan coach Scott Vermillion of his squad. “Riverside is an experienced team, they have a lot of guards, a lot of seniors. Our guys last year would have kind of packed it in and had it get out of hand. This year, they fought back.”
He added that “I think we can find ourselves pretty soon if we keep putting in that effort.”
Read the full story in the Wednesday, Dec. 4, digital edition of the Examiner found on www.examiner.org under the “Web Editions” link.