The Riverside Beavers entered Friday’s game on a nine game losing streak and they were winless in the Western Reserve Conference. The Beavers put together a complete game and rolled to a 58-29 win over host Eastlake North on Friday.
Riverside senior Jeremy Janota got the scoring going with a layup 30 seconds into the game. North senior Brandon Robinson tied the game with a jumper from the right wing. After Janota scored on a putback, Riverside never looked back.
After a 6-0 Beavers run, North junior Chase Axelrod hit a layup and missed the corresponding free throw. Riverside split a pair of free throws for a five-point lead. North sophomore Brandon Barron nailed a three, pulling within two points at 9-7. Riverside ended the first quarter with a 7-0 run. North trailed 16-7 after the first quarter.
The Riverside full court press worked to the full extent as the Beavers held North to four points in the second quarter, all from the charity stripe. Three different Beavers players scored four points each as the Beavers opened a 20 point lead going to the intermission.
Senior Alex Wade led all scorers with 10 points in the first half for Riverside. Barron led the Rangers with three points on a 3-pointer.
Barron and Riverside senior Michael Tomassetti exchanged threes at the beginning of the second half but Riverside pushed the lead to 24 over the course of the quarter. Both defenses locked down and did not allow a point for the last two minutes of the quarter.
Janota scored four points for the Beavers as they led 42-20 after the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, North went on a 7-0 run as the Rangers pulled within 17 points with five minutes left. Senior Travis Picquet scored five points on the run for North. Over the last five minutes, Riverside closed the game on a 14-2 run, leading to the final deficit of 58-29.
Wade had a game-high 12 points for Riverside. Janota finished with 10 points as nine Beavers entered the scoring column.
For North, Picquet was the leading scorer with seven points. Barron finished with six points on two 3-point shots.
Riverside improved to 3-13 overall and 1-9 in the WRC. They snapped the nine game losing streak. The Beavers host Painesville rival Harvey on Saturday.
North dropped their fifth straight game, falling to 4-12 on the season. The Rangers are 2-7 in the WRC and host Brush on Saturday then travel to WRC rival South on Tuesday.
