By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

WESTWEGO – Cory Costanza was just 2 for 9 from the field prior to taking the final shot of regulation, his Riverside Rebels tied with St. Augustine at 45 apiece in the quarterfinals of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic boys basketball tournament.

But judging by the way the Riverside bench and the fans rose to their feet when he lined up hi open corner 3-pointer, their confidence in the senior hadn’t wavered. And he, indeed, delivered.

The ball swished through as time expired, and the Rebels officialy advanced to the tournament semifinals, 48-45 winners over the Purple Knights at the Alario Center Thursday night.

“It felt good (upon releasing the shot),” said Costanza. “That was one of the biggest shots I’ve ever made. I’ve still got butterflies.”

Riverside (11-3) was set to face Bishop Verot of Florida at 7 p.m. Friday night, after press time. The tournament  championship game, would the Rebels advance, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight. The third-place game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Rebels coach Timmy Byrd was all smiles when Costanza’s name was brought up after the game.

“It couldn’t have happened for a better guy,” said Byrd. “He’s one of the hardest workers on our team. He struggled with his shot for most of the night, but when it came time for him to take the winner, he had confidence in his shot because of all the work he’s put into it.”

The night saw Riverside stage a feverish comeback after falling behind 30-17 at halftime. St. Augustine (10-7) held Riverside to 26.9 percent shooting in the first two quarters; conversely, a bigger Purple Knights squad shot 70.6 percent in the opening half.

“We shot 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half. We knew that wouldn’t continue,” said Byrd. “Our kids didn’t panic. It came down to us getting after them defensively.”

The Knights did not maintain a commanding lead for long. Jordan Andrews nailed a 3-pointer early in the third quarter to make it 30-22. Craig Victor jammed two points home for St. Augustine, but Von Julien answered via a mid-range jumper to make it 32-24, then Herb McGee sank a 3 from the wing. Malik Crowfield added a layup in transition and all of a sudden, the Rebels were down just three.

Kelan Chairs drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to bump the lead back to six; he’d hit another shortly after to make it 37-31, but Deuce Wallace nailed a 3 for Riverside to make it 37-34 entering the fourth quarter.

“The game was there for us, but the bottom line was that we were going to have to take it,” said Byrd. “St. Augustine wasn’t going to give it to us.”

McGee sank two free throws to make it 37-36 before Julian finally put Riverside ahead, driving for a layup and drawing a foul; he converted at the line for the 3-point play to make it 39-37.

Victor tied the game on a layup at the other end. Malik Crowfield responded with a 3 from the top of the key to push RA back up by three.

St. Augustine recaptured the lead on an inside bucket by Bryce Washington, then a pair of free throws by Victor. At the other end, a Costanza 3 came up short, but Andrews hustled for a steal underneath the basket and drew a foul; his two free throws put RA back up 44-43. McGee then made one of two at the line to make it 45-43 before Blake Jones tied it on a driving runner with 58 seconds left.

He drew a foul on the play and missed a free throw, though, setting up the final play for Riverside. Byrd elected to have his team hold for the last shot. Julien made the pass to Costanza and, with time winding down, he connected for the win.

“The play was set up for Malik (Crowfield),” said Costanza. “But when that wasn’t there, we just took what the defense gave us.”

McGee, Crowfield and Julien all finished with 10 points each to lead Riverside. Costanza scored eight. Julien also had seven assists, while Andrews made a big defensive impact with seven steals.

Victor, St. Augustine’s 6-foot-8 inch center, scored 19 to lead the Purple Knights. Chairs scored 11, including three 3-pointers.

While RA held St. Augustine to 37.5 percent shooting in the second half, ultimately the game’s difference came down to turnovers. Riverside forced 17 St. Augustine turnovers while only turning it over six times.

After the transfer of 6-foot-8 inch freshman center Khalea Turner to John Curtis earlier this month, the suddenly smaller Rebels ability to handle a bigger team like St. Augustine was in question. But while Victor was effective, the Rebels used a committee approach defensively to slow the big man’s ultimate impact.

“I know some people think we’re a finesse, shooting team, but in the second half tonight I thought our guys really played tough,” said Byrd. “We wanted to play (Victor) physically, to deny him the ball and we used a few different guys on him. I thought Timmy (Perrilloux), Cory and Deuce all did a good job defending him tonight.