Riverside basketball claimed a down-to-the-wire 67-62 victory over Sumter on Monday at Greenville High School.
The Warriors, who came into the contest ranked No. 3 in 5-A D2, held off the 5-A D1 No. 4 Gamecocks for arguably the team’s most impressive win of the young season.
“I think we’ve got a very good basketball team. We want to be in games like this, win or lose,” said Riverside head coach Allen Arnold. “Our boys practice hard and work hard to be in games like these.”
The most impressive part of Riverside’s victory? The Warriors did it without senior sharp-shooter Ben Sponaugle. He’s been sidelined with an ankle injury since last Tuesday against Spartanburg.
They also pulled out the win despite star Sebi Boyogueno fouling out with two minutes to play.
With the game tied at 59, Boyogueno — who had 32 points — picked up an offensive foul to give him five on the day.
Riverside buckled down and made plays despite that, clawing out a marquee win.
“We don’t ever want that to happen, Sebi going out,” said Arnold. “Obviously, we want him on the floor. But the depth on our team this year gives us confidence no matter who’s out there. A lot of guys grew up today in a big way.”
Before Boyogueno fouled out, he was having one of his best career games. The senior consistently got to his spot in the paint and took nothing but high-percentage shots all evening. His 32 points came on an impressive 13/18 shooting spray. Most were floaters and contested layups.
Boyogueno and Sumter star BJ Brown — both considered top-20 prospects in this year’s state class — battled it out, combining for 70 points.
“I love matchups like this,” said Boyogueno. “Going against guys as good as [Brown], that’s what gets me excited. I love being challenged. I feel like we both brought the best out of each other today.”
Point guard Huck Flinn also controlled the game well from his position and played good defense on Brown, particularly after Boyogueno went out.
Holden Koss had several clutch buckets late for the Warriors, and ferocious rebounding and paint play from Jayden Lassiter in the fourth quarter gave Riverside the edge over Sumter.
Lassiter, who saw his first Riverside action of the season over the weekend, is quickly showing why he deserves consistent minutes in the Warriors’ rotations.
“Jayden has busted his tail since day one,” said Arnold. “He’s a phenomenal player, and he’s going to be a big-time player for the next three years. We’re glad to have him out there playing. He’s come a long way.”
“It felt good to be out there,” said Lassiter. “I was feeling discouraged being on the bench for a while, but I’m glad to be able to get on the court. I feel like I bring physicality and rebounding ability, along with a little bit of scoring.”
With the win, Riverside advances to take on Greenville in the Gold Bracket Championship of the Poinsettia Classic on Tuesday night. That game tips off at 7:45 p.m. at Greenville High School.
For more coverage of Greer-area athletics, follow @GreerNewsSports on X and Greer News Sports on Facebook.
