Meurer pours in 31 points to lead Rebels past Cougars

Riverside senior Logan Meurer put on a scoring clinic, scoring 25 of his game high 31 points in the first half of Thursday night's 87-80 victory over Rector in 2A-3 conference basketball action at Lake City.

The two teams came out trading baskets in the opening minutes, before Rector took a 14-13 edge late in the first quarter on back to back three pointers by Dylan Shelton. Riverside took the lead back with a three pointer by Caleb Waugh at the 1:49 mark, and held a 20-14 lead entering the second period.

Meurer took charge in the second period, scoring 20 points as the Rebels pushed ahead by 14 at the half, 46-32. Rector had cut the Rebel lead to five points late in the quarter on another trey by Shelton before Meurer led the Rebels on a 9-0 run to close out the half. Meurer scored seven of Riverside's points during the closing surge.

Alteeno Sain began the second half with three consecutive buckets as the Rebels maintained their 14 point lead, and went ahead 55-38 on a three pointer by Waugh with 6:09 left in the third period. But the Cougars wouldn't give up, as they began to launch long range bombs and hit four straight three pointers, two by Daniel White and two by Shelton, to cut the Rebel lead to 11. Riverside got a late bucket from Dylan Wright to take a 66-51 lead into the final frame.

Riverside maintained a double digit lead throughout most of the fourth period, despite Rector's continued accuracy from beyond the three point arc, which included five more treys in the quarter from the Cougars. Riverside finally put the game on ice when Jacob Jordan connected on a pair of inside baskets in the final 2:00, giving the Rebels an 84-67 lead. Rector outscored Riverside 13-3 in the closing 1:30, but it was too little, too late, as the Rebels hung on for a key conference victory.

"Riverside couldn't have played much better than they did in the first half, and the bad thing for us is they scored just as many points in the second half," said Rector Coach Matt Mills. "We got down by too many points and we were forced to get out of our game plan. We weren't able to execute and get the ball inside like we wanted to. Alteeno Sain just killed us tonight. Every time they needed something big, either points or a rebound, he seemed to come through for them," concluded Mills.

"This was a big win for us," said Rebel Coach Buster Campbell. "I thought it was one of our better games offensively. We just don't know how to finish a game. We were up 17 late in the game and we win by seven. Kollin Stone and Dylan Wright both had double figures in rebounds. They played well. Logan Meurer was out of his mind the first half. That's about as good as anybody I've had play for a half in a long time. Jacob Jordan came in and got a couple of big buckets for us late. Rector is a good team. They have so many weapons and can really shoot the three. It's a huge win for us. We protected our home court. There's a lot of games left, but we are second by ourselves right now, so we are in pretty good shape."

Sain joined Meurer in double figures with 21 points, including 17 in the second half. Waugh scored 13, Wright recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Kollin Stone netted two points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Jordan scored six while Ben Hensley added three points. Riverside connected on 16-26 foul shots and made three treys.

Shelton drained seven three pointers on the night and finished with 21 points to lead the Cougars. Daniel White scored 19 points while Mitchell Weber and Reed Weber added 14 points apiece. Alex Scott chipped in nine points. Rector drilled 15 three pointers on the night.

Augusta

Riverside capped off the week with a 70-57 Homecoming victory Friday night over Augusta at Lake City. The Rebels fell behind 28-21 at the half before rallying to take a 39-37 edge into the final frame. Riverside outscored the Red Devils 31-20 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Caleb Waugh pumped in 20 of his game high 22 points in the second half, including five three pointers. Logan Meurer poured in 18 points, all in the second half, while Alteeno Sain chipped in 14. Dylan Wright snared a team high nine rebounds for the Rebels.

The win lifts the Rebels to 17-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play.

Lorenzo Pryor led Augusta with 21 points while Jordan Brown and Ervin Gant added 11 points apiece.

In junior high action, Riverside lost to Rector 39-32. Lawson Ford scored 15 points while Garrett Buck added 13 to lead the junior Cougars. Rector stormed to a 16-3 first period lead and led 23-13 at the half. The Cougars took a 27-23 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Gavin Stone led the Rebels with 12 points while Braden Overman added 11. Luke Baker scored seven while Andrew Murdie and Dylan Davis scored one point apiece.

Riverside bounced back Friday night to take a 62-39 win over Augusta, behind Murdie and Davis who scored 12 and 11 points respectively. The win improved the Rebels' record to 17-9 overall and 8-4 in conference play.

Riverside returns to conference play Tuesday night when they travel to Marked Tree to take on the Indians. The Rebels will conclude the week with a road trip to McCrory.

The win lifts the Rebels to 17-9 overall and 9-3 in conference play.