By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

ST. JAMES — Riverside Academy has been an offensive juggernaut all season, but the scariest thing of all for its Class 2A competitors is the Rebels are flashing the defense to match.

Thursday night, Riverside put everything together once again with a 113-50 district victory over host St. James, wrapping up the regular season for the Rebels.

Riverside moved its overall record to 25-6 with the win and clinched an undefeated district championship. The Rebels have not lost a game to an in-state competitor, going 22-0 in Louisiana.

“We were able to get a lot of good open looks and to knock down shots,” Riverside coach Timmy Byrd said. “Defensively, we were strong. I thought our bench really gave us a lift.

“Right now, we’ve got six guys all capable of scoring 20 in a given night. And our seventh man, Darrion Cook, is a defensive stopper. He played really well (Thursday). Richie George is giving us good minutes as a backup center. I like the depth we have.”

Herb McGee continued to fill the stat sheet offensively, scoring a game-high 24 points. Jared Butler scored 23, and Jordan Andrews scored 21. Malik Crowfield added 13.

Jarel Joseph scored 11 and Jonta Jones scored 10 to lead St. James (9-19, 4-5).

The Rebels showed how dominating they can be in the third quarter, scoring 46 points and allowing just 12 in the period to cement the victory.  

With Butler’s emergence as a major rotation player over the past month, the Rebels have multiple lineups that pair four or even five players that can handle and shoot the ball at a high level.

But though the Rebels lack traditional bulk inside, their defense hasn’t suffered. While not a new development, as smaller RA teams have defended at a high level before, this year’s team has shown some special skills in that regard, especially in late-game situations.

In its 81-69 victory last week over University, Riverside held the Cubs nearly scoreless in the fourth quarter, not allowing points until 1:20 was left play, the game decided. A week prior against Country Day, the Rebels did exactly the same. Country Day is ranked fourth in Class 1A power points; University is ranked first in 3A, and, like Riverside, hadn’t lost a game in state all season until the Rebels’ win.

“That’s what makes this group special,” Byrd said. “When it gets to what we call ‘winning time,’ these guys are really able to lock teams down and be stingy at the defensive end. They know their responsibilities, they don’t gamble and they do all the things you need to win games.”

Thursday’s game was the seventh time this season Riverside had topped 100 points in a game. The Rebels have won eight straight by an average of 39 points per contest.