The Riverside Pirates boys’ basketball team secured their first tournament win in over a decade with a 55-53 victory over Northeastern on Thursday night.
Riverside started strong, taking a 21-12 lead in the first quarter thanks go Gavin Orsborne who came out firing scoring Riverside’s first seven points.
Northeastern fought back in the second quarter, and at halftime, Riverside held a slim 31-26 lead.
In the third quarter, both teams traded baskets, and Riverside led 42-39 heading into the final period.
Northeastern would grab their first lead of the game in the 4th quarter before Riverside would retake the lead. As the final quarter was ticking away, Damien Smith hit two free-throws to break a 53-53 tie.
Northeastern called timeout to set up a play with :36 left in the game. The Jets Aiden Neer went to the baseline and attempted a running shot that went in, but the official called him for traveling.
Riverside would eat some clock as Northeastern started fouling to get into the bonus. With :07 left the Pirates went to the charity stripe and missed two shots. The Jets rebounded and called timeout. One last effort for Northeastern was turned away by Riverside as the clock hit :00 and the Pirates celebrated a 55-53 win.
Gavin Orsborne led all scorers with 22 (19 in the first half), including six 3’s. Jaxson Woods chipped in with 18 points and Hayden Sanford had 5.
#5 Riverside will face #6 Fort Recovery Wednesday night at 7:30 from Troy High School.
