Ridge View grinds out win in 4A Boys Championship; Riverside takes 4A Girls crown in a rout (AUDIO)

FLORENCE CENTER: Ridge View shot out of the gate to take a commanding early lead and held on for a 58-52 victory over Riverside in the 4A Boys State Championship Game, Saturday.

The Blazers applied full court pressure from the opening tip, forcing the Warriors to play at their pace for the first few minutes and turn it over in bunches. Riverside turned it over 10 times in the first half, many of which were forced by Ridge View’s pugnacious on-ball defense. With the tempo to its liking, Ridge View shot out to a 20-6 lead before the Warriors could catch their breath. Riverside recovered, however, and rallied to close the gap to 20-16 by early in the second quarter.

Ridge View’s Jayen Pretty was excelling in the open court, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half before encountering foul trouble. All-state guard Korie Corbett took the reins from his teammate and got aggressive offensively. Corbett finished with a game-high 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

Behind Corbett, Ridge View pushed its lead into double digits early in the fourth quarter. Riverside had one more run left in them, however, as Jack Sauer’s layup cut Ridge View’s lead to 53-50 with 1:06 to play. The Warriors came up dry on their next possession and allowed the Blazers to stretch their lead back to five. All-state forward Julen Iturbe (12 points) drove for a bucket on the next trip to cut the lead to three with 32 seconds left, but Ridge View refused to yield. The Blazers made enough of their foul shots down the stretch to foil the comeback and sew up the title.

Ridge View’s hot start turned out to be a key factor in the victory, “We’ve been starting off well all playoffs, which was good for us because we knew they were going to make a run,” said head coach Joshua Staley.

The Blazers also fended off multiple comeback bids from Riverside, which didn’t surprise Staley, “That’s how they are every day in practice. We never fold, we never crack …. These guys put in a lot of work, these games are won in the offseason. The skill development, the weight room, the grind. You can’t win games like this the night of.”

Ridge View Stats

Riverside Stats

Ridge View head coach Joshua Staley

4A Girls State Championship

Riverside coasted to the 4A Girls State Championship with a 62-32 victory over A.C. Flora in Florence, Saturday. Elly Trickett had a monstrous double-double with a game-high 16 points and 16 rebounds. All-state guard Kyndal Haroski contributed 14 points and 4 steals. It’s the first title in program history for the Warriors.

A.C. Flora couldn’t solve the Warriors’ defense and made just three field goals after halftime and shot 20% for the game. Riverside also controlled the boards, winning the rebounding battle 59-33.

Riverside Stats

A.C. Flora Stats