By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — Armed with 6-8 center Marcus Freeman, along 6-5 forwards Mario Moore, Carnell Norfleet and 6-3 forward Damonte James, Riverside’s size was too much for Northside to handle on Tuesday as the third-seeded Knights topped the sixth-seeded Panthers 76-43 in the first round of the Four Rivers Conference tournament.
Freeman was a force in the paint as he tied teammate Ramelle Lanier for a team-high 17 points, plus blocked several shots for the Knights, who will move on to play No. 3 Plymouth Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.
“We were able to control the glass, Marcus was a big factor,” Riverside coach Bobby Williams said. “And when Marcus wasn’t getting it Carnell or Damonte was there to get it. It was an all-around good effort on the boards.”
Led by seniors Taylor Woolard and Damount Harvey, who scored 14 and 13 points respectively, the Panthers trailed by only seven points at the end of the first quarter, 21-14.
Riverside’s advantage in the paint, coupled with a strong performance by Lanier, allowed them to jump out to a 40-25 lead heading into halftime.
“We started strong. I think we were prepared, but we just had a hard time keeping them off the glass,” Northside coach Mike Procter said. “I think all their second shots finally beat us down.”
The Knights squashed any hopes of a Panthers’ comeback in the third quarter as they out-scored Northside 16-4 to take a 56-29 lead into the final quarter.
Before the game, Williams spoke to his team about the importance of a fast start and his club responded.
“We challenged them to be ready to go right from the beginning. We told them that our previous games against (Northside) didn’t mean anything tonight,” Williams said. “We had a bracket up on the board of the other teams and I erased it and told them that our game was the only game that mattered.”
Aside from Lanier and Freeman, the Knights got a solid game from point guard Darrell Freeman who tallied 13 points.
Northside, which was playing without a few key players due to various reasons, fought hard until the final buzzer but could not overcome the Knights.
The Panthers only hope to make the postseason is to hope for a wild card, but that is an unlikely scenario. After the game, Procter said he was extremely happy with the way his team played this season.
“I’m as proud of this team as any team I have coached because they just fought through so much adversity,” Procter said. “They had to fight the fact that they could have been one of the best teams in the East before losing some players. But, I’m just really proud of them.”
No. 2 Riverside 47, No. 7 Perquimans 36
The Riverside girls basketball team overcame a slow start with a hot finish as it topped Perquimans 47-36 in the first round of the Four Rivers Conference tournament Tuesday at Northside High School.
The Knights (18-7) trailed the Pirates 9-3 after the first quarter and went into halftime down 16-8. However, Riverside out-scored the Pirates 39-20 in the second half to move on to the second round of the playoffs where it will face No. 3 Plymouth at Riverside High School at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Freshman guard Jalyn Brown led the Knights with 17 points, while Dasia Moore added nine.
Northside 14 11 4 14 — 43
Riverside 21 19 16 20 — 76
Panthers (43)
Damount Harvey 13, Radcliffe 2, Maldinaldo 2, Taylor Woolard 14, No. 34 5, Mackey 2, Miller 3, No. 21 2.
Riverside (76)
Ramelle Lanier 17, Rodgers 5, Darrell Freeman 13, Moore 4, Marcus Freeman 17, James 4, Norfleet 4, Roberson 2, Jamal Whitehurst 4, Japual Whitehurst 3.