Leesburg, Va. — Looking to advance to their first state semifinal since 2022, the Riverside High School boys basketball team took the court for a VHSL Class 5 State quarterfinal matchup against VHSL Region 5C runner up L.C. Bird High School on March 4 in Leesburg.
“Hats off to L.C. Bird,” Riverside head coach Mike Koscinski said. “They’re very well coached, they know where to get the ball to, they were patient at times, they were quick at times, and they used their size and physicality to gain an advantage.”
Despite being undersized in the frontcourt, Riverside senior forward Joell Basue and senior point guard Josh Ntiamoah both posted big second halves as the Rams escaped the Eagles, 58-56, to advance to a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal.
“It was a really close game against a really good team,” Basue said. “We’re just excited that we kept composed, continued to work hard, and came out with a win.”
Basue (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half, while Ntiamoah (9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) chipped in 7 of his 9 points and 4 of his 5 assists in the final two quarters.
A back-and-forth first half saw Riverside head into the break trailing 35-31, but it was a deficit they were confident they could climb out of.
“Against good teams, we’ve had a tendency to start slow. We were just trying to feel them out, see what they’re coming with, and find out how they play,” Basue said. “We knew we could bring some more energy in the second half to get the win.”
It didn’t take long for L.C. Bird to extend its halftime lead when senior guard Daron Moore found senior shooting guard John Uzochukwu in the corner for three to grab their largest lead of the night at 38-31.
Riverside, however, responded in a big way as Basue found Ntiamoah on the baseline for a jumper to cut the deficit to five. Two possessions later, junior forward Mason Ridgeway (11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) made a layup before Ntiamoah collected an offensive rebound and found Basue for a layup to cut the Bird lead to 38-37.
“Joell is a big momentum creator,” Koscinski said. “He just kept battling and battling.”
Then, off a steal from junior guard Max Lawson (12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals), senior forward Brady Peterson (9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) scored a bucket to take the lead before a big rejection on the defensive end by Ntiamoah fired up the Riverside faithful.
“Josh is a throwback: he’s an old-soul player, he doesn’t get sped up, he’s got some vision and some savvy, he’s really steady under pressure, and he’ll knock down the ‘see-I-can-shoot’ shot when he needs to,” Koscinski said. “His leadership really fuels us.”
With the momentum and the lead, the Rams knocked down a pair of free throws before Ntiamoah assisted Basue and Lawson on easy buckets to cap off a 14-0 Riverside run, forcing a Bird timeout at 45-38.
The Eagles responded out of the timeout as Uzochukwu knocked down another triple to cut the Riverside lead to 45-41.
Following another pair of Riverside free throws and a Lawson to Basue connection, Uzochukwu took matters into his own hands, going on his own 6-0 run to end the third and start the fourth, cutting the deficit to just two.
After Basue and Uzochukwu traded baskets, Uzochukwu picked up his fourth foul, as the Eagles elected to keep their leading scorer on the court with about six minutes to play.
On the ensuing possession, Ntiamoah grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to give Riverside a 53-49 lead. Two possessions later, Ntiamoah connected with Basue to increase the Riverside lead to six.
As the Rams tried to bring the ball up the court after a Bird basket on the following play, Uzochukwu committed his fifth foul of the game and was sent to the bench to watch his teammates play the final minutes of the fourth.
Despite the giant obstacle, the Eagles’ spirits were lifted as Moore scored on an and-one then buried a three to cut the deficit to 57-56.
Then, Ntiamoah split a pair of free throws to make it 58-56 late in the fourth, before a turnover and intentional foul by Bird looked to give Riverside the space they needed to put the game on ice.
However, the Rams missed both of their free throw attempts then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbound play, allowing the Eagles one more opportunity, which fell short from three as Riverside escaped L.C. Bird, 58-56.
“We should have put the nail in the coffin and closed it out, but we let some things get a little too close,” Koscinski said. “We gutted it out, showed our character, and got just enough from everyone to get the win.”
Riverside (10-0, 27-1) will travel to VHSL Region 5C Champion Albemarle for a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal on March 7 in Charlottesville.
“These guys want to be champions, they want to keep it rolling, and they want to go to VCU,” Koscinski said. “We knew in order to get there, we’d have to face this challenge and we faced it right on.”