Tough season ends for Rebels

The Riverside Rebels saw their season — and with it, the playing careers of seniors Andrew Garcia, Brendan Powell, Paul Stone and Mason Brown — end with a 57-35 loss Saturday in Burlington.

The Rebels finished 1-19, with their lone win coming in their penultimate game versus Dubois.

A slow start doomed the Rebels in Burlington, as the hosts led 11-4 after one, 32-11 at the half.

“We played a pretty good first quarter defensively, but gave up some offensive rebounds inside and they were able to score off of those second chance opportunities,” Coach Scott Winters said. “They are physical and aggressive going for rebounds and in the first half I felt like that was one of the main differences for us. 

“We gave them too many transition baskets in the second quarter as well.”

The Rebels “did a much better job rebounding and getting back on defense” in the second half, Winters said. That was reflected in the scoring, with Burlington tallying 25 points to Riverside’s 24 after the break.

“We didn’t shoot the ball great, but I thought we continued to shoot with confidence and played hard until the final buzzer,” Winters said. “We competed rather than just conceding to them so I was proud of the boys for that, and I thought we ended the season on a good note.”

Brendan Powell and Kenneth McClure paced the Riverside offense and with 13 and 10 points, respectively.  Gavyn Cervantes led in rebounds, with eight.  

“The boys stayed positive and have goals to get in the gym this summer to work on the areas that they struggle in and they have a lot of potential if they are willing to do that,” Winters said. “We will miss our seniors and all that they brought to the team. They had positive attitudes and set a good example for the younger classmen.”

Burlington 11 21 17   8 — 57

Riverside   4   7   9 15 — 35

RIVERSIDE — Brendan Powell 6 0-0 13, Kenneth McClure 3 3-5 10, Paul Stone 1 0-0 2, Gavyn Cervantes 2 0-2 4, Eli Jensen 1 0-0 3, Mason Brown 1 1-2 3.  Totals 14-of-55 (FGs) 4-of-9 (FTs) 35.

3-POINT GOALS — Powell, McClure, Jensen.  REBOUNDS — Riverside 32 (Cervantes 8).  STEALS — Riverside 5 (Powell, McClure 2).  ASSISTS — Riverside 11 (Powell 4).  TURNOVERS — 19.