Riverdale rolls over WCHS-Pioneers still seeking first District 7 victory
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But a 10-minute scoring drought and 13 turnovers, which equaled the Pioneers’ point total for the first half, were all Riverdale needed to down Warren County 56-38.
Riverdale improved to 4-12 on the year and 2-2 in district action, while the Pioneers dropped to 3-12 and 0-4 in district play.
Riverdale came out and hit the first two baskets of the game as Joey Lee connected from the paint and Blake Howard nailed a 3-pointer. Chase Officer put Warren County on the board at the 5:56 mark, which helped the Pioneers to run off nine unanswered points. Donta Weir and Kyrie Harris added baskets and Coty Keel hit a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 9-5 lead with 3:19 remaining in the opening period.
But the turnover bug bit the Pioneer squad, which sent Warren County’s offense spiraling to an abrupt halt. Riverdale’s Howard hit a pair of shots from the free-throw line with 1:51 remaining as the Warriors closed out the period with five points to take a 10-9 lead.
Warren County’s scoring drought continued into the second quarter as Riverdale ran off 17 unanswered points over a five-minute period. The Pioneers’ first points of the quarter came when Weir hit with 2:02 left in the half, and he added a second basket at the 1:22 mark. Lee added a basket for Riverdale just before the half ended as the Warriors took a 29-13 lead.
Warren County’s offense pulled things together in the third period by posting 13 points, but the Pioneers still couldn’t stop Riverdale’s offensive attack. Michael Young and Zack Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Warriors run off 10 straight points. Officer, who hit to open the period, added a second bucket at the 3:32 mark. Chris Weitzel scored his first basket of the game and added a second bucket with 2:21 left in the period. Weir added a pair of baskets, but Riverdale added eight points to the board to close out the third period of play with a 45-26 lead.
Camron Bond and Weitzel hit back-to-back baskets to open the fourth quarter. After Riverdale’s Dominique Coleman scored, P.L. Prater answered with a 3-pointer for Warren County. Weitzel pulled Warren County within 12 with 2:41 left to play. But down the stretch the Warriors went to the free-throw line and connected on six-of-eight to secure their district win.
Weir led the Pioneers with 12 points. Weitzel added eight, Officer had four, Bond, Coty Keel and Prater had three points each. Zach Stephens and Harris had two points apiece and Blair added one point.
Lee led all scorers with 17 points for the Warriors. Howard added 14, Bobby Leonard had six, Young had five, Janeal McDonald added four, Zack Jones and Andy Scofield had three points apiece and David Spurlock had two points.
‘We have to take care of the ball a lot better,’ said coach Ryan Smith. ‘Our turnovers led to a lot of their points tonight and we can’t do that.
‘We couldn’t get into our offense until the second half and that was mainly due to all of our mistakes in the first half. They pressured us up top and at full court. We have to do a better job in practice on handling pressure, that’s been a problem for us right now. We finally settled down in the second half and did a much better job of moving the ball on offense. The kids kept fighting and I’m pleased with our effort in the second half.’
Warren County will take on Siegel on Tuesday in the Charlie Dalton gym.