Noam Cohen, Kevin Young, Talib Harrell, Taj Harrell, and Robert McDonald gather during a pause in their first round playoff game. Photo by Jason Iwara.
The Pirates beat South Central 60-52 on Tuesday and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
The 7A bracket was finalized on Saturday, and tenth-ranked Riverside were heavy favorites against the South Central Falcons, a 23rd seed.
Head coach Christopher Mayshack believed that the winner would be the team who could play the hardest and rebound.
“[The biggest factor was] Defense, honestly,” said senior Talib Harrell. “That’s what wins championships, you know?”
The atmosphere on the basketball court was electric from tip-off up until the clock ran out. Multiple times throughout the game the differential was 3-6 points, just one or two possessions away. On the other hand, there were times when multiple plays would happen in favor of the Pirates and the game looked far out of reach.
“[The biggest factor was] persistence, staying together as a team, believing in each other.” said senior Robert McDonald.
Riverside will face a familiar foe in round two when they travel to play the Hillside Hornets on Thursday. The Pirates beat the Hornets on Jan. 6 but lost 48-46 on Jan. 30.
“I think rebounding has to improve a lot,” said Harrell, “that was a really big factor in our game.”
All players interviewed mentioned rebounding as something that needs improvement before the second round of the playoffs, [stat about Riverside rebounds vs. South Central rebounds].
“First half, we weren’t rebounding a lot. Second half, we kind of picked it up.” said Harrell.
Riverside heads to Hillside on Thursday to play in the second round of the state playoffs. Tip-off is at 6:30, and tickets can be bought at the door.
