Bidding for a 10th-straight conference championship and another solid postseason run this season, the Riverside-Brookfield boys basketball team has no need for any New Year’s resolutions.
On track to achieve their annual goals, the Bulldogs (8-3, 2-0 Metro Suburban Conference) enjoyed another yearly rite of passage by competing in the 37th Jack Tosh Holiday Classic hosted by York last week. Advancing to the championship game in 2009, the Bulldogs posted mixed results this time around, splitting four games.
RB finished the highly-regarded tournament in fine fashion with an 83-72 win over St. Charles East in the seventh-place game on Thursday. Senior guard Ryan Jackson scored a season-high 34 points (including a tournament-record 16 free throws) and just missed a triple double with nine rebounds and eight assists. Fellow seniors Alex Dziagwa (19 points, 10 rebounds), Charlie Morrissey (11 points, seven rebounds) and Watoris Slater (nine points) backed up Jackson’s stellar performance. The offensively efficient Bulldogs made 26-of-30 free throws and scored 38 points in the paint.
In their tournament opener on Monday, the Bulldogs cruised past Wheaton Warrenville South 69-44 as Jackson netted 33 points highlighted by six three-pointers.
“I was feeling it,” said Jackson, who reached the 1,000-point career mark in the fourth quarter. “I did a workout earlier [today] and my shot felt very good.”
The 6-foot-9 Dziagwa (13 points, 9 rebounds), sophomore guard Damonta Henry (9 points), Nate Hanley (6 points) and Mike LeBeau (6 rebounds) also contributed for the hot-shooting Bulldogs, who finished 16-for-29 (55 percent) from the floor against the Tigers.
“We were clicking and played extremely well,” said RB coach Tom McCloskey said. “Ryan had a great game, [Dziagwa] Z had a good game on the inside and other guys contributed as well.”
Tournament champion Downers South knocked off RB 77-68 in second round action on Tuesday as the Mustangs shot a blistering 72 percent from the field (34-for-47). Hanley scored a team-high 17 points and Jackson added 13 for RB.
South Elgin dealt RB its second loss 69-64 in day three action. Elusive guard Sammy Sutter scored a game-high 24 points for the Storm, while Jackson led RB with 23 points and Charlie Morrissey added 13 points.
“I think South Elgin’s quickness and their spread offense gave us problems,” McCloskey said. “In the second half, we corrected some things. I thought we played hard, but it just didn’t work out for us.”
Trailing 67-55 with less than a minute remaining, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run before time expired.
“Everyone played hard, but we just came out sluggish in the first half,” Morrissey said. “When we started to pick it up in the second half, it was just a little too late.”