BY DAVID FOLSE II

SPORTS EDITOR

It’s always good to get that first district win out of the way.

Riverside boys basketball head coach Tommy Monier just hopes it is the first of many more to come.

Monier’s Rebels picked up their first victory in district action Thursday night when they defeated Buras on the road 79-62.

Josh Labiche once again led the Rebels (15-8, 1-1) with 23 points. Anthony Trosclair added 20 points. Chris Fontenot also had a solid night with 11 points and center Matt Rogers added 11 in the Rebel victory.

In an ironic twist of fate, it was Buras’ lack of depth that turned out to be one of the biggest differences in the game.

“We wanted to run and pressure them all night long,” Monier said. “We were able to do that. They were not real deep. We scored 24 points in the first quarter and got a lead and were able to do what we wanted to from there on out.

“They (Buras) played a lot of guys in the junior varsity game that played varsity for them. We tried to run up and down the court in that game to hopefully make it wear on those guys a little bit. We were able to do it. I thought they were wore down in the second quarter. They were grabbing their shorts and hanging around. I just told my kids to crank it up some more and keep running.”

A game his team was expected to win, Monier was still happy to come away with the first of what he hopes is several more district victories.

“I’m definitely happy,” Monier said. “It was our first district win. I think that we wanted to play with a sense of urgency and really did.

“I think that everything that we have done all year long has been to build up to this. From the time we start conditioning early on, it is about these 10 games. You really don’t have to win games until you get to district. Winning game in district is all that matters.”