The Beavers had a powerful season that led deep into the playoffs, and as some of those football players assimilate into Coach Matt Grendel’s hoops team, the same characteristics, aggressive defense and opportune offense, had led the Beavers to be unbeaten at 4-0 heading into their contest with a young and inexperienced Kenston team.
Game photos click here.
The Riverside Beavers have picked up where their tough football teams left off this school year.
The Beavers had a powerful season that led deep into the playoffs, and as some of those football players assimilate into Coach Matt Grendel’s hoops team, the same characteristics, aggressive defense and opportune offense, had led the Beavers to be unbeaten at 4-0 heading into their contest with a young and inexperienced Kenston team.
The Bombers have those characteristics, as well, but took an early beating on the offensive boards as Riverside claimed a 70-37 Western Reserve Conference victory.
The Bombers (0-6) were in trouble early as they had no answer for Riverside senior forward Austin Lee. In the first period alone, Lee had three offensive rebounds that he put back in. Riverside had a 16-10 lead after a quarter.
It didn’t get any better in the second period, when Riverside opened with a 10-2 run. Lee added another put-back, Andrew Taggart had a pair, and the Beavers kept up hot shooting in the second half to start a running clock, keeping the Bombers winless.
Coach Derrick DeJarnette could see what was happening, and his team battled hard all night, but finishing plays was hard to do. The Beavers swarmed around Max Marra all night. Marra never gave an inch, but the young Bombers were often either a step too quick or a step too slow. Oftentimes they looked to be thinking of what to do instead of reacting, and the Beavers took advantage of it all.
Balance was the key for Riverside. Taggart paced the offense with 17 points; Lee and Peyton Burnett, with five hits from beyond the arc on five tries, added 15 points.
Throw in another 11 from Charlie Fox, from both inside and outside, and the Bombers just didn’t have what it took to come back.
Despite defeat, Marra was powerful in the loss. He put home a game-high 21 points on nine of 13 shots. No other Kenston player had as much, as nobody else scored more than four points.
“We’re just so young and inexperienced this year,” Coach DeJarnette said. “All we can do is just go back to work and try to figure it all out. I started three sophomores tonight, one senior and one junior. The kids are working hard, but we just need to get after it some more. Credit Coach Grendel of Riverside, too. He has his kids playing very well together, and he’s developed a very strong program.”
The Bombers cupboard is far from bare. As Coach DeJarnette works with this group, teamwork will come more into focus.
