Playoffs: Riverside's historic run comes to an end

GAINESVILLE -– Turnovers and poor shooting undid Riverside Military Academy’s chance to continue its historic run Wednesday night in the Class AA state basketball playoffs.

The Eagles, who were looking for their first-ever Elite 8 appearance, had 23 turnovers and missed six shots with a chance to tie or take the lead in the second half before eventually succumbing to Blessed Trinity 47-43 at the Curtis Hall gym.

Riverside led just for just four minutes in the game but caught the Titans with 2:57 left on a three-point play by senior John Ogunniya to tie the game at 40-40. But as was the case most of the night, the Eagles could not hold on missing two shots and committing a turnover on three consecutive possessions with a chance to take the lead and add on.

Riverside coach Matt Bohon said hanging onto the ball was the difference.

“We really struggled with that most of the game and that was the difference,” he said. “Our kids never quit and played their hearts out. We didn’t lose; we were beaten by a better team tonight.”

Riverside, which made the GISA Final Four the past two seasons, had never advanced to the GHSA playoffs in previous years and Bohon said every game was history in the making.

“We’re disappointed we lost but the program has made strides this year,” he said. “This is something we can build on. These guys are used to playing in pressure games but this is the best team we’ve played all season.”

The Titans (24-6) will take on the Dade County-Calloway winner Saturday in Rome. Titans’ coach Brian Marks knew they would be in for a battle.

“Both of these teams have won games winning ugly so we knew it would be a grind-it-out kind of game,” Marks said. “We didn’t make a lot of plays but in the end we were able to get the lead and then hit a few free throws to hold on. This was a big win for us because it is the farthest we’ve ever advanced in the tournament.”

Blessed Trinity did not score a field goal in the fourth quarter but hit 13-of-18 free throws in the final period to hold off Riverside, which had its 11-game win streak snapped. The fourth quarter production from the line was in stark contrast to the first three quarters when the Titans were just 4-of-12 from the line.

“We were brutal most of the game but we hit some when we needed to and our defense in the final two minutes was pretty good,” Marks said.

The Eagles had just one field goal after Ogunniya’s basket and were just 5-of-10 from the free throw line for the game.

Riverside did an outstanding job defensively on the Titans’ top scorers - Arris Brundidge and Ryan LeGates. The two came in averaging 34 ppg but were held to just 22 combined points Wednesday. Legates finished with 17 but hit 7-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Brandon McKinney led Riverside with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Dylan Setzekorn had nine points, Ogunniya finished with eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks in his final game, and Richard Tribble had seven points for the Eagles.

Things started slow for Riverside, which committed turnovers on its first six possessions. Blessed Trinity took advantage running out to a 4-0 lead. The Titans extended it to 10-5 late in the first quarter taking advantage of three more RMA turnovers.

The Eagles, however, cut the lead to 13-12 by the end of the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Tribble. Blessed Trinity used a 6-2 run to open the second quarter to pull out to a 19-14 lead but the Eagles cut the lead to 21-18 on another basket by Tribble just before halftime.