By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

BATON ROUGE – That No. 8 Riverside defeated No. 1 University Lab Friday night was an upset in terms of ranking only — the Timmy Byrd-coached Rebel program has felled numerous top-tier foes before.

But in terms of how the win happened? That was unexpected, indeed.

Riverside exploded to a 72-44 victory in a potential Class 2A postseason preview, one that saw Riverside hand U-High only its second loss of the season in the process snapping a 12-game Cubs winning streak.

“University has a really good team, with good size and a lot of athleticism,” said Byrd. “I don’t think anyone saw this coming.”

Jordan Andrews scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Rebels (16-3). Malik Crowfield missed a triple-double by a single point, putting up nine points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds. Herb McGee scored 15 points. Von Julien added 10, while Cory Costanza scored nine.

D.J. White led University (16-2) with 15. Wayne Sims added 11.

The Rebels’ juggernaut offense was on display once again in this one, but defense and rebounding were where Riverside truly set themselves apart. RA outscored University 22—5 in the second quarter and allowed no more than 10 points in any quarter before the fourth; by then, RA already had built a 54-24 lead entering the final frame.

But more unexpectedly was Riverside’s major rebounding edge against a decidedly bigger foe. The Rebels outrebounded the Cubs, 39-17.

Byrd said that his team’s rebounding rate has skyrocketed over the past month, a development that few, if anyone could see coming given the departure of 6-foot-8 center Khalea Turner in early December; his transfer to John Curtis left Riverside with no starters above 6-foot-4.

“We’ve been driving that home, rebounding as a team,” said Byrd.

“We’ve gone from 29-30 rebounds a game to start the season to, now, 36-28. We’re much more active on the defensive end. Guys are taking pride in it.

“Jordan Andrews is a guy that’s taking a lot of pride in his rebounding. Malik isn’t happy unless he finishes with 11, 12, 13 rebounds. Our guards want to be the best rebounding guards in the state.”

What that has done is to turn the Rebels into even more of a matchup nightmare; a Riverside team that essentially starts five guards has been competing and winning on the boards, all but negating their size disadvantage completely.

Byrd pointed to a pair of early Cory Costanza 3-pointers Friday as a major boon.

“Cory hit those shots, and all of a sudden their center has to come out to guard him,” said Byrd. “It really loosened their ‘D’ up.

“The bottom line is that we’ve got five guards out there, and that’s really a nightmare to defend.”

Defensively, Byrd specifically noted McGee’s efforts in taking the assignment of senior guard Henry Shortess, University’s top outside shooter.

Riverside often used a box-and-one alignment with McGee shadowing Shortess, who averages 14 points per game. Shortess made just a single field goal and finished with eight points.

“We did that because of how (Shortess) gets those 14 points. He does it on very few shots. He shoots such a high percentage from the field,” said Byrd. “He hit an early 3, but Herb didn’t give him anything from there.

“We call Herb a “plastic man”. He’s making it his goal to be a true lockdown defender, and it’s exactly what he’s doing.”