Boyogueno embracing new role as “the guy” for Riverside

Riverside junior guard Sebi Boyogueno has embraced his newfound role as “the guy” for the Warriors this season. In a 70-68 OT win over Dorman on Friday, Boyogueno put up 30 points.

Riverside head coach Allen Arnold stepped out of the Dorman High School locker room and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He shook his head and smiled.

“I don’t even know how I’m feeling right now,” Arnold said. “I know it’s never easy, that’s for sure.”

Arnold, of course, was referring to Riverside’s 70-68 overtime victory at Dorman (4-1) on Friday night. His Warriors (5-1) rallied from 17 points down in the second half to force overtime and eventually grind out the win.

A pattern is beginning to form.

This season, the defending upper state champion Warriors are 5-1. Four of those five wins have come by six or fewer points.

Three of those wins have come in overtime.

“I think it just shows the process of what we’re working on,” said Arnold. “The kids are really believing in what we do. The hardest thing about having such a young team, which we’ve got, is not panicking in close games.”

Riverside’s overtime win over Dorman on Friday followed a season-opening 78-73 OT win over Collins Hill (GA) on Nov. 29 and another nailbiter just three days prior — a 59-58 OT thriller over Spartanburg.

“We just don’t lose our composure when it’s tough, and that says a lot about this team, especially our younger players,” said Arnold.

Though some of Riverside’s young rising pieces have been consistent in earning Arnold’s praise all season — players like freshman and sophomore guards Huck Flinn and Keyon Knowles — it was Riverside’s upperclassmen who paved the way to a gritty come-from-behind victory at No. 2 Dorman.

Senior forward Mikkel Skinner was a force in the paint, dominating down low for 15 points and five rebounds.

Senior forward Mikkel Skinner poured in 15 points and five rebounds in the 70-68 OT win over Dorman. The win was Riverside’s third in overtime and fourth by 6 points or fewer this season.

Junior guard Sebi Boyogueno was the premier star of the show, however, driving to the rim and piling in clutch baskets late en route to a season-high 30 points.

“In my head, I knew we just had to keep pushing,” said Boyogueno. “I wasn’t playing my best game in the first half, but we knew we were never out of the game. The whole team kept believing.”

Boyogueno — last year’s Greer Citizen Sixth Man of the Year — is no longer coming off the bench to provide a spark. Boyogueno isn’t waiting in the wings behind last year’s star-studded cast of Riverside seniors — names like Julen Iturbe, Drew Cannon, and Rylan Jones.

He’s “the guy” for the Warriors. And just ask those around him.

Boyogueno is thriving in his newfound prominence.

“Sebi has embraced being the guy for us,” said Arnold. “He knows he’s going to have every team’s best defender guarding him every night. He knows what it takes to be in this role and he’s leading the team really well.”

“I’m really proud of [Sebi],” said Skinner. “I’ve seen this in him since his freshman year. Now everyone else is getting to see it, too. The spotlight’s on him now.”

Boyogueno couldn’t be more grateful.

“This is exactly what I’ve always wanted,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. It’s perfect.”

Catch Boyogueno, Skinner, and the rest of the Warriors in action on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Greenville. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.