Riverside boys basketball rallies past Orange in nonconference action

Andrew Freeman scored seven points for Riverside on Tuesday night, but they were the biggest ones in the game.

Freeman’s 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining gave Riverside the lead for good as the Pirates rallied past Orange 72-64. The Pirates (8-2), who lost to Panther Creek on Monday night, received 20 points from Jordon Riley. A.J. Davis came off the bench for 14.

Orange, which led 55-48 with 6:25 remaining, was led by Logan Vosburg, who scored 24 points. Connor Crabtree, coming off a 32-point game on Friday against Cedar Ridge, scored 16.

Riverside’s Justin Johnson started the rally with a 3-pointer with 5:38 remaining. After Riley scored on a short hook, Freeman scored his first points of the game with a 20-footer to give Riverside a 59-58 lead with 4:43 remaining.

In the final four minutes, Orange (2-4) was held to one field goal and three free throws. The Panthers lost starting point guard Demares Drummond with a shoulder injury when he collided with teammate Daniel Mulligan.

Turning point

Freeman took over the game with a 3-pointer to put the Pirates ahead for the first time since it was 4-3. He went on a personal 7-0 run, which included recovering an errant rebound that ended in a double-clutch reverse layup. He also assisted on a field goal by Riley in that stretch.

They said it

“He came up big for us in the second half. He slowed down a little bit and found our shots within the offense. That’s kind of how our team has been working. It can be a different guy every night that steps up for us,” Riverside coach Brian Strickland.

By the Numbers

2: Number of point guard injuries for Orange this season. Eryk Brandon-Dean was knocked out for the season in September with a torn ACL suffered in a football game against Southern Durham.

8-1: Riverside’s record since a season-opening loss to Durham Academy.

11: Number of Pirates who played. They have 12 on their roster.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 12:07 AM with the headline "Riverside boys basketball rallies past Orange in nonconference action."