Five Big Things: Riverside Takes Region Title
At Greer High School on Friday night, the Yellow Jackets met the Riverside Warriors to wrap up the regular season for a region championship. Despite a second-half comeback, the Warriors outlasted Greer on the road to claim the Region 2-4A championship and top seed by a 59-52 final score. Here are my biggest takeaways from the game.
1-In front of a packed crowd on the road, Riverside looked unfazed. The Warriors jumped out to a quick lead in the opening quarter and held the lead for the entire first half. Riverside has the most talented starting five I’ve seen this season. They played hard nosed defense, and every position could pass and ball handle. This is a team that has only lost twice to in-state opponents this season and has beaten 5A region champions Mauldin and Byrnes … twice … each. The Warriors boast one of the best teams in the state regardless of classification, and showed it again last night. 2
2-Mikkel Skinner led the way for the Warriors with 21 points in the win, being able to get to the rim and free throw line consistently. Julen Iturbe is an extremely skilled big man that can score from three levels, pass, defend, dribble and generally make life miserable for opposing head coaches. Drew Cannon, Keyon Knowles, and Jack Sauer rounded out the scoring in the win, and contributed key moments in holding Greer to just 10 fourth quarter points in the win.
3-Greer fought hard while trailing most of the game. The Yellow Jackets turned the score in their favor and took their first lead of the game in the third quarter, behind stellar play from Amare Anderson. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Anderson poured in 14 points in the third period with two three pointers and an and-one. He also played well on the defensive half as well, leading the Yellow Jackets with multiple steals.
4-Anderson finished with a game-high 24 points, but couldn’t find the bucket in the fourth quarter as he battled foul trouble and more attention from the Warrior defense. Mikey Williams scored 9 points and Zayn Valentine finished with 8 in the game. Brayden Durrah and Brayden Lytes also had trouble with fouls and contributed little production.
5-With the win, Riverside wins the region championship and will host South Pointe in the first round of the 4A playoffs, while Greer will get a home matchup with Indian Land on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets could face a region champion, Greenville, in the second round with the drop in seed.
