1A teams too much for Rebels at Wrangler Invite

Matchups against a pair of ranked 1A teams and a solid 2A squad at last weekend’s Wrangler Invitational in Shoshoni were not favorable ones for a Riverside team trying to find its footing in the first month of the season.

The Rebels lost 75-36 to Saratoga, which is ranked No. 5 in 1A, on Friday before taking two more on the chin Saturday, falling 75-36 to Little Snake River, which is No. 3 in 1A, and 66-28 to host Shoshoni. 

Coach Scott Winters said his team was competitive in the first half against Saratoga, but “fell apart” in the third and fourth quarters. “We missed some easy shots and let our intensity on defense be affected by our offensive struggles and they made us pay,” Winters said. “They shot well from the outside and were able to get out in transition on us and we weren’t able to compete like we had hoped.” 

Eli Jensen played limited minutes in his return to action after sustaining an ankle injury during football. “He brought some extra energy and experience for us early on, but unfortunately rolled his other ankle and had to sit out the rest of the weekend,” Winters said. “Paul Stone had his best offensive game of the season and got us going early on, but we weren’t able to keep it going. We struggled with our outside shots. We had good, wide-open looks, but I think the more we missed the less amount of confidence we had.”

Winters described Little Snake River as a “quick” team with “a lot of shooters.”  The Rebels were slow to react on defense in the early going, giving up far too many wide-open looks that enabled the Rattlers to build a 12-0 lead.

“We weren’t able to stop their momentum,” Winter said. “We were shaken up and made some mental mistakes resulting in a lot of unforced turnovers.”

On the plus side, “Gavyn Cervantes had a solid offensive game as well as Paul and Brendan (Powell) but we didn’t have any answers for Little Snake defensively. We tried different coverages, but had the same results and couldn’t slow them down.”

The weekend ended in a loss to a Shoshoni team that handed Upton its first loss of the season.

“They were probably the best team at the tournament,” Winters said. “I thought we played with a lot of heart and intensity throughout the game, but we were outmatched and had similar struggles with our shooting and defense against quicker players that we have had in our previous games.”

 Kenneth McClure shot well from the outside and led in scoring with nine. Cervantes added seven point and six boards.

“As a team we’re trying to stay positive and focus on our growth as we look to build our team,” said Winters. “I feel like we’re learning more about our identity as a team with each game and the boys are getting more confident. We are hoping the boys will be in the gym a lot over the Christmas break to work on our shooting and prepare for our conference games coming up.”

Saratoga 18 22 19 16 — 75

Riverside 14   9   9   4 — 36

RIVERSIDE — Brendan Powell 2 0-0 5, Kenneth McClure 2 0-0 5, Paul Stone 7 0-0 15, Jaxon Womack 1 0-0 2, Gavyn Cervantes 3 0-2 6, Eli Jensen 1 0-0 3.  Totals 16-of-54 (FGs) 0-of-2 (FTs) 36.

3-POINT GOALS — Powell, McClure, Stone, Jensen.

Little Snake 23 18 26 5 — 72

Riverside   4 10 13 0 — 27 

RIVERSIDE — Powell 3 1-4 7, McClure 1 0-0 2, Stone 3 0-0 7, Cervantes 4 0-0 9, Mason Brown 1 0-2 2.  Totals 12-of-46 1-of-6 27.

3-POINT GOALS — Stone, Cervantes.

Shoshoni 24 22 14   6 — 66

Riverside   6   9   5   8 — 28

RIVERSIDE —  Powell 2 1-2 5, McClure 3 3-7 11, Stone 2 2-4 6, Cervantes 2 3-8 7, Alan Landis 0 1-2 1.  Totals 9-of-47 10-of-25 28.

3-POINT GOALS — McClure 2.