By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — Holding a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, it looked as if Riverside would coast into the Four Rivers Conference tournament championship game. However, Plymouth wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet.
The No. 2 Vikings (16-5) steadily chipped away at the No. 3 Knights (19-7) lead thanks to four fourth-quarter three-pointers by Kewayne Hedgebeth, with the last one leaving Plymouth within striking distance, 83-75, with 19 second left in the game.
Despite the stellar fourth-quarter effort, the Vikings would get no closer as Riverside held on to win 86-78 and advance to tonight’s championship game where it will face No. 1 Camden at 7:30 p.m. at Riverside High School.
Camden, who split the Four Rivers Conference regular season championship with Plymouth, topped Perquimans in the second round to advance.
Knights guard Ramelle Lanier poured in a game-high 28 points, including several key buckets down the stretch. Riverside also got a huge night from its 6-8 sophomore center Marcus Freeman who tallied 25 points and was nearly unstoppable early in the game.
Tremaine Anderson also was a key factor in Riverside’s win as he tallied 18 points despite not playing in the first quarter.
“We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to play Camden (tonight),” Riverside coach Bobby Williams said. “In this league (seeds) one through four could win this basketball tournament … We are going to go home tonight and get some rest, then meet up early tomorrow to go over the scouting report and get ready for the game.”
Riverside fell behind 22-21 at the end of the first quarter, but out-scored Plymouth 54-27 over the middle quarters to build up a 65-49 lead heading into the final stanza. A big reason for the Knights’ large lead was the play of their big man Freeman early on.
“Marcus dominated the boards, I think a large percentage of his points came off rebounds. We need to get him the basketball more,” Williams said.
The Vikings were led by a steady Ronnell Blount, along with solid play from George Norfleet and Hedgebeth. Norfleet was hot in the first half and ended the game with 13 points, while Blount scored 16 and Hedgebeth erupted for a team-high 19 points.
Despite the sturdy offensive output, Vikings coach Marvin Davenport said it was his team’s defense that got it back in the game.
“We played the second half with a little bit more intensity and we were a little bit more aggressive,” Davenport said. “We put more pressure on the ball (in the second half), we began to trap and that got us back into the game … We played a good team tonight and we just came up short.”
Riverside 21 24 30 21 — 86
Plymouth 22 12 15 29 — 78
Knights (86)
Marcus Freeman 25, Freeman 2, Ramelle Lanier 28, Rodgers 3, Moore 2, Tremaine Anderson 18, James 5, Hardison 2.
Vikings (78)
George Norfleet 13, Simpson 8, Kewayne Hedgebeth 19. Ronnell Blount 16, Barnes 2, No. 24 9, McCray 9, Brook 2.