After being part of another boys basketball conference champion, Riverside Brookfield High School senior Cameron Mercer only appreciates the achievement more. The third-year varsity player contributed to another Feb. 11 as the Bulldogs won 69-33 at West Chicago to secure the first-place tie with Glenbard East in the Upstate Eight Conference East Division at 11-1.
“I’ve just been blessed to win conference every year I’ve been on varsity and my (freshman junior varsity) year,” Mercer said. “It’s kind of normal to me but it’s always a great feeling to win conference. I don’t think during my sophomore I was as excited as my junior or senior year. This one especially, this year, is probably the hardest.”
Starting with 2002, the Bulldogs (22-7) have 23 conference championships over the past 25 seasons. This one follows titles from 2007-24 in the Metro Suburban Conference and Suburban Prairie Conference from 2002-2006.
RBHS and Glenbard East also shared the 2025 UEC East crown. The Rams (26-3) achieved their share by beating Ridgewood 71-57 Friday.
“It’s a great accomplishment. It’s like a great marathon,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said. “To win a conference title, you have 12 games and we’re getting everybody’s best shots. There’s very little room for error and luckily we were able to take care of business.”
Riverside-Brookfield’s coach Mike Reingruber watches the action against De La Salle during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Cameron Mercer (5) is introduced before tip off against De La Salle during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Liam Enright (30) lines up a shot against De La Salle during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Noah VanTholen (23) puts up a shot against De La Salle’s Lucas Johnson (30) during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Walker Burns (15) tries to gather in the rebound against De La Salle during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Colin Cimino (21) gets fouled by De La Salle’s Caleb Henry (22) as he attempts a shot during a nonconference game Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 in Riverside, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark)
This one was truly earned. They lost the first meeting at Glenbard East 70-58 Dec. 19 in Lombard but won the rematch at home 69-64 Feb. 3. In between, the Bulldogs rallied 53-46 over third-place Glenbard South (19-9, 7-5) Jan. 22 after starting the game missing their first 15 shots in falling behind 17-3.
“The guys laser focused. After losing to Glenbard (East), we really didn’t have room for error at all,” Reingruber said. “Every game was a conference championship for us.”
Mercer (17 points) and Colin Cimino and Liam Enright (15 points each) paced the victory over West Chicago. Mercer and Cimino also had six rebounds.
The Bulldogs also beat Elgin 67-38 on Senior Day in their UEC crossover Saturday and lost to De La Salle 61-47 Friday. While Mercer (16 points) and Ben Biskupic (13 points, 11 rebounds) reached double figures Saturday, senior reserves Walker Burns, Peter Laube, Charlie Sloan and Aaron Guzman also scored. Mercer (16 points, 9 rebounds), Cimino (14 points, 5 rebounds), Noah VanTholen (7 points) and Biskupic (7 rebounds) were top players against De La Salle (13-16).
RBHS led the Meteors at halftime 29-25 before being outscored 14-7 in the third quarter. It was just the Bulldogs’ second loss in their last 16 games.
“We played a good first half and then second half didn’t make shots and threw the ball all over the gym,” Reingruber said.
