Head coach Brett Childers has preached to his Catawba Ridge’s boys basketball team that they will need to find different ways to win basketball games throughout the season.
The Copperheads found the right way to win in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs on Wednesday night. Catawba Ridge outscored Riverside Warriors 17-8 in the final six minutes of play to secure the first playoff victory in program history with a 64-55 win on home court.
Catawba Ridge improved to 23-4 overall now moves on to play undefeated North Augusta, who is 27-0, in a second-round matchup on the road 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17.
“I would have preferred to win by 20,” said Childers, who was voted the Region 3-4A Coach of the Year earlier this week. “But playoffs are like that. We have to win different ways. We’ve been battle-tested enough. We didn’t have our ‘A’ game, but we figured out how to win a game when it’s close.”
Catawba Ridge got off to a white-hot start, leading 13-0 after the first five minutes. The early run was highlighted by several fast-break layups and an emphatic 3-pointer by Zyan Hager, who scored nine points in the game.
But Riverside quickly swung the momentum back their way, ending the first quarter on a 12-0 run of its own. Rylan Jones nailed back-to-back treys, while three different Warriors hit backdoor layups to cut into the Copperheads’ early lead.
Senior guard Grant Lovette, who led with 21 points, worked hard in the paint to help Catawba Ridge establish its lead. With his back to basket, Lovette combined with Lance Barnes, who added 18 points, to hit five of Catawba Ridge’s eight second-quarter baskets. Midway through the quarter, Catawba Ridge enjoyed a 6-1 run that allowed the Copperheads to enter halftime up 30-24.
Five different Copperheads scored baskets to keep pace with Riverside, which started heating up when Drew Cannon hit a trey with five seconds left in the third quarter to cut the Copperheads’ lead to five.
Riverside’s Mikkel Skinner and Mikey Williams combined for quick layups before Julen Iturbe sank a momentous 3-pointer to tie the game at 47-47 with 5:49 to play.
Still, Catawba Ridge leaned on its transition offense to dig itself out of trouble. Barnes combined with Brady Ambrose, who had 12 points, to score 12 of Catawba Ridge’s 20 points in the fourth quarter, including 17 in the final six minutes.
“We told them to keep being patient on offense,” Childers said. “They were getting good looks. We had to work the offense and get a great shot, and I thought we could do that.”
The most important play of the game was likely Barnes’ steal with less than a minute left, with Catawba Ridge up 57-52. Barnes tipped an inbounds pass by Riverside, then took it all the way the other end to sink a bucket and put the scoreline just out of reach for the visitors.
“It was going back and forth toward the end,” Childers said. “They hit a big three, we had a couple steals. Between (Barnes) and Grant, they played outstanding. They’ve done that all season.”
The focus for Catawba Ridge now turns to North Augusta, where Catawba Ridge will enter the second-round road matchup as underdogs.
But for now, Childers is counting his blessings and appreciating his team earning the program’s first postseason win.
“We’ve been building for this,” he said. “We believed that with the talent we have, we could get there. It’s great for the guys to get the first one, to build their confidence.”
