Riverside head coach Allen Arnold doesn’t want to go into detail about what he said to his team at halftime.
But whatever it was? It worked.
The Warriors trailed Byrnes 28-18 at the halftime break on Friday night. They proceeded to hold Byrnes scoreless for the entire third quarter — going on a 20-0 run out of the break — and riding that momentum to capture a 57-45 win over the Rebels.
More importantly for Arnold and Riverside? The win earned the Warriors the Region 2-5A championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the 5-A DII playoffs.
“This region is the toughest. Night in and night out you’re facing the best,” said Arnold. “And we’ve been consistently near the top for the last couple of years. I’m proud of that, and I’m proud to get our first 5-A region championship.”
Riverside came out of the gates sluggish on offense. Scoring just 18 points in the first half was a combination of several factors. Riverside was being dominated on the glass, and star senior Sebi Boyogueno picked up his second foul just a little over halfway through the first quarter. He sat for the majority of the second.
But after the Warriors came out of the locker room, there was a rejuvenation about the team. Reeves Garner hit a couple of huge threes to get the rally rolling, and from there, stifling defense did the rest.
“We were getting destroyed on the boards in the first half,” said Arnold. “[Byrnes] was practically shooting it until they made it each possession. But for most of the second half, it was one shot, and that was the end of every possession for them.
“We knew we just had to execute. We had to execute what we wanted to do.”
Sebi Boyogueno did his thing once he returned to the game, racking up a game-high 23 points. Huck Flinn once again played incredible defense, guarding Byrnes star PG Colt Fowler all evening.
But Boyogueno and Flinn declined to take the praise after the game.
Both players instead gave flowers to their head coach.
“I give all the credit to Coach Arnold,” said Boyogueno. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the state who scouts as much as he does.”
“Sometimes I think about just how much work Coach Arnold puts in,” said Flinn. “He is always scouting and working. He probably doesn’t finish working until 3 a.m. most nights, and then we have practice at 6 a.m. It’s crazy.”
Riverside will now receive the No. 1 overall seed and first-round bye in the Class 5-A Division 2 playoffs, meaning the Warriors won’t play again until Friday, Feb. 20. Riverside will be at home until the potential Upper State championship. That game will be played at a neutral site.
Byrnes will receive the No. 3 overall seed and a first-round bye in the Class 5-A Division 1 playoffs. The Rebels will have a guaranteed home game for the second round and won’t play again until Saturday, Feb. 21.
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