After losing a pair of games to Lyons Township last season, Riverside-Brookfield High School boys basketball team gained a measure of revenge and an early Christmas present with a 79-55 win over the Lions on Saturday.
LT knocked off RB in the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament championship game and also in a regular season matchup last year, but Saturday was certainly a different story for both clubs.
RB guard Ryan Jackson scored 24 of his game-high 33 points in the second half as the Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0 Metro Suburban Conference) pulled away from a 30-25 halftime lead. The Lewis-bound guard had a pair of offensive flurries, scoring eight straight points in the third quarter to fuel an 11-0 run and also netting the Bulldogs’ first 10 points in the fourth quarter as RB outscored LT 31-17 down the stretch.
“I was just trying to get to the basket and be aggressive,” Jackson said. “When I had daylight, I was looking for my shot [on the perimeter].”
Jackson finished 11-for-16 from the field with five three-pointers, while Charlie Morrissey (13 points, eight rebounds) and 6-foot-8 center Alex Dziagwa (13 points, seven rebounds) provided plenty of support on both ends of the floor. Defensive ace Watoris Slater (10 points, 12 rebounds) posted a double-double before halftime.
“It was kind of shocking because I never expected us to win [the game] like this,” RB coach Tom McCloskey said. “Ryan got hot and took over in the second half. I thought we played really well.”
As spectacular as the Bulldogs’ second-half showing was against LT, holding the fort when Jackson picked up his third foul at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter was arguably more critical. Leading 20-19, RB outscored LT 10-6 without Jackson to close the half.
“We have a lot of guys who just know how to play basketball,” McCloskey said. “It was a tremendous night for us.”
LT (3-1), which reeled off 23 straights wins to open last season, struggled against the visiting Bulldogs. The normally sharp-shooting Lions made just 22 of 78 shots (28 percent), including 1 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc. Head coach Tom Sloan wasn’t pleased with the Lions’ work on the defensive end either.
“RB played very well and controlled the paint,” Sloan said. “At the same time, I didn’t think we played well at all. We had opportunities to score and good looks, but we just didn’t go strong in the paint. I think we allowed too many layups and uncontested shots on defense.”
Nick Zeisloft led LT with 15 points while Nick Burt added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Eric Powers (11 points) and Spencer Mahoney (9 points, 8 rebounds) also contributed for LT.
Fresh off three wins to capture their season-opening tournament, Sloan knows the Lions must keep the disappointing loss in constructive perspective.
“We don’t have a bunch of 6-10 McDonald’s All-Americans who can just jump over people,” he said. “We have talented kids, but they have to play as a team, share the ball offensively and play good defense.”