Leesburg, Va. — Heading into their tournament semifinal, the Riverside High School boys basketball team was the decisive No. 1 seed in the Potomac District. But in playoff basketball, anything can happen.
After a slow start, the Rams started to pull away from Stone Bridge late in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away and eventually forced overtime after a Riverside miscue.
Despite the hiccup, the Rams remained calm and took care of business in overtime to escape the Bulldogs, 77-70, on February 19 in Leesburg, earning a return trip to the Potomac District championship game.
“We made just enough shots to win tonight, and sometimes that’s what happens in the playoffs,” Riverside head coach Mike Koscinski said. “For whatever reason, I think we needed that overtime experience for whatever comes up down the line.”
A slow start by both teams saw Riverside leading 13-7 after the first eight minutes of play, but knowing how important a halftime lead would be, Stone Bridge cut into that lead early in the second quarter.
Stone Bridge junior forward Kedric Golston II (11 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists) assisted sophomore point guard Kevin Reyes (20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals) on a layup before Golston II grabbed a defensive rebound, setting up junior guard Sam Rubino (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) in transition.
After Riverside senior forward Brady Peterson (22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks) found junior guard Max Lawson (7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks) for two, Rubino scored on two of the next three Stone Bridge trips to tie the game at 15-15.
Riverside responded in force as senior point guard Josh Ntiamoah (14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks) found senior forward Joell Basue (17 points, 4 rebounds) inside for two. Two possessions later, Lawson found Basue for two to increase the Riverside lead to 19-15.
Following an offensive rebound and putback by Golston II, Ntiamoah once again found Basue to make it a four-point game. On the ensuing defensive possession, Ntiamoah ripped down a defensive rebound and found Peterson in transition for two to extend the Riverside lead to 23-17.
However, a layup by Stone Bridge freshman forward Kaden Golston (8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) sent both teams into the half in a 23-19 game.
“We’ve had a couple games where it was one or two possessions at halftime then we get it going in the second half, and I think we just assumed that would happen,” Koscinski said. “But Stone Bridge was able to keep it close.”
In an effort to steal some momentum early in the second half, Rubino and Reyes scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 23-23.
Following a Ntiamoah jumper, Reyes scored the old-fashioned three before assisting sophomore guard Carter Burnes (9 points, 2 rebounds) on a triple.
After a defensive stop, Rubino scored in transition as the Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the night, 31-25, forcing a Riverside timeout.
Out of the timeout, Peterson drilled his first three of the night to cut the deficit to 31-28. On the next offensive possession, Lawson found Peterson for two, further cutting the deficit to 31-30.
“I was a little hesitant early on and didn’t make any shots,” Peterson said. “The coaches encouraged me to keep shooting, and once I saw the first three go through the net, the rest felt good after that.”
Two possessions later, Ntiamoah stole a pass and scored on the break, as the Rams retook the lead 32-31.
A basket by Golston II gave Riverside the lead back, but then Riverside junior forward Mason Ridgeway (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) collected an offensive rebound and scored, drawing a foul, before completing the three-point play.
Rubino responded with a three to give the Bulldogs what would be their last lead of the night as Lawson found Basue inside to give Riverside a 37-36 lead, after three quarters.
The and-one late in the third got Ridgeway revved up as he buried two threes early in the fourth to extend the Riverside lead to 40-36 then later to 48-43.
After cutting the lead to one, the Bulldogs left Ntiamoah wide open in the corner as he too knocked down a triple.
Holding onto a 57-52 lead with about two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Rams started to slow things down in an attempt to eat clock. In order to stop the clock, Stone Bridge opted to foul Peterson on back-to-back possessions as the Rams’ cool-handed veteran knocked down all four free throw attempts to increase the Riverside lead to 7.
“Brady’s been the difference maker. He started the game tight, but when he’s attacking the rim, when he’s active on the glass, the rest of it flows for him,” Koscinski said. “The more he did those things, the more he showed his experience and tenacity.”
On the ensuing Bulldog possession, Ntiamoah blocked a Stone Bridge shot attempt firing up the crowd, but Golston II collected the offensive board and dished a pass to the top of the key where Reyes drilled a three to cut the lead to 61-57.
“[Kedric]’s an exceptional young man and a heck of a competitor,” Koscinski said. “He knows how to use his body and seal off space, and he just has a frame when he gets low that he’s hard to get around. It’s hard when you’re going up against a kid with that size and athleticism.”
After Peterson connected on two more free throws, Reyes found Kaden Golston underneath for a layup to once again make it a 4-point game. Then, off a missed jump shot, the younger Golston grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback while drawing a foul.
Trailing 63-61 with less than three seconds to play, the freshman headed to the line to shoot one. Golston tried to intentionally miss the free throw to give his team a chance for an offensive rebound and score, but his attempt missed the rim as Riverside took over on the violation.
On the ensuing inbound, the Rams got the ball to Ridgeway, who was fouled and headed to the line with a chance to put the game on ice. Ridgeway split his free throws to give Riverside a 64-61 lead with 0.8 seconds left.
Needing a miracle to tie, the Bulldogs inbounded the ball to Reyes who turned and heaved a shot from three-quarters court, where he was fouled by Ridgeway and headed to the line for three shots and a chance to tie.
After the long trip down court, Reyes connected on all three free throws to tie the game at 64-64 and force overtime.
“We didn’t get stops, we didn’t create enough separation at times,” Koscinski said. “We did start to pull away late in regulation, some things didn’t go our way, we ended up in overtime, and we had the toughness and resilience to not let that bother us.”
On their first defensive possession of overtime, Lawson jumped a passing lane and picked off a pass before he got fouled, connecting on both free throw attempts to give Riverside a 66-64 lead.
On the very next defensive possession, the Bulldogs collected two offensive rebounds, before Peterson blocked a shot and made an outlet pass to Ntiamoah, who was fouled before taking care of his opportunity at the charity stripe.
Trailing 68-64, the Bulldogs found an answer when Peterson fouled Burnes going to the basket on a tough and-one.
Peterson redeemed himself immediately when he buried a three on a dime from Ntiamoah to re-extend the Riverside lead to 71-67.
Following a pair of free throws by Kaden Golston, Ntiamoah found some space inside and knocked down a short jumper to give Riverside a 73-69 lead late in OT.
After Burnes split a pair of free throws, Ntiamoah got to the hole and finished, giving the Rams a 75-70 lead with just seconds to play.
Stone Bridge fired off five more threes without any luck, and Ntiamoah and Lawson both added free throws late as the Rams escaped the Bulldogs, 77-70.
“It was closer than we would have liked,” Peterson said. “But at the end of the day, in the playoffs, getting the win is all that matters. Now, we get to move on.”
No. 1 Riverside (10-0, 23-1) now hosts No. 2 Potomac Falls (5-4, 18-5) in the Potomac District championship on February 21 in Leesburg. The Rams fell to the Panthers in both the 2023 and 2024 Potomac District title games.
“We’re definitely excited. The last two years the district championship was at Potomac Falls, and we didn’t come away with the win,” Peterson said. “This year’s at home, so hopefully, we can play hard and play fast and change things and come away with the win.”
Derrick Jerry captured 125+ photos at the game!
Riverside Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Brady Peterson | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8-for-10 |
| Joell Basue | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-4 |
| Josh Ntiamoah | 14 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3-for-4 |
| Mason Ridgeway | 14 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Max Lawson | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5-for-6 |
| Bellal Shirzay | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Noah Blubaugh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Septarsi Duggal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 77 | 35 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 19-for-27 |
Stone Bridge Stats
| Player Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Sam Rubino | 20 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kevin Reyes | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7-for-8 |
| Kedric Golston | 11 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Carter Burnes | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Kaden Golston | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-5 |
| Mark Lawerence | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Joey Johnson | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0-for-0 |
| Nathan Hughes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Robert Wilkins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 70 | 34 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 12-for-17 |