Jones layup, Skinner steal seal Riverside win over Byrnes
Riverside’s Rylan Jones (No. 31) attacks the basket during Riverside’s 63-62 win over Byrnes on Dec. 7. Jones’ game-winning bucket with 5.3 seconds left -- and his 19 points in the game -- helped the Warriors down the 5-A Rebels.
Riverside head coach Allen Arnold wasn’t happy with his team’s defense for the first 28 minutes of the game.
But in the final four minutes Thursday against Byrnes, his Warriors came through.
Trailing 62-57 with 4:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, Riverside (7-1) didn’t allow Byrnes (4-2) to score a single point the rest of the way en route to a 63-62 win.
“I was very disappointed defensively for most of the game. We allowed them too many offensive rebounds and let them in the back door,” said Arnold. “But they focused and got locked in for those last few minutes of the game.”
The Warriors outscored Byrnes 6-0 over the final four minutes to upend Byrnes on its home floor. Rylan Jones scored the last two of his game-high 19 points with 5.3 seconds remaining, hitting the contested game-winning layup over several Rebel defenders.
“Julen [Iturbe] came over to try and set a screen for me, but I thought he was coming to get the ball from me to take the shot,” said Jones. “But he just handed it right back to me which kind of cause Byrnes some confusion. Julen went to set a screen for me, but I denied the screen and just drove to the basket and scored.”
Jones wanted to celebrate but couldn’t. Byrnes still had 5.3 seconds left to try for a game-winner of its own.
“I was feeling really great, but I didn’t want to get too out of my emotions because they had a chance to score and got the ball on their baseline.”
That’s when Mikkel Skinner came in.
After the Rebels inbounded the ball to star guard Will Fowler, Skinner snuck around his man to swipe the ball away. He collected the loose ball and dribbled out the rest of the clock, throwing the ball in the air in jubilation.
“I just tried to give [Fowler] a hard time trying to get possession of the ball,” said Skinner. “I came up to double team him and stripped the ball. And that was it.”
“Whenever Mikkel is challenged, he responds. When [Will] Fowler had his back to the basket and Mikkel left his man, that was good,” said Arnold. “He was either going to get a steal or a foul, which we had one to give. That’s just Mikkel. He makes plays.”
Now 7-1 on the season and firing on nearly all cylinders, the Warriors are hoping to head into the Christmas break on a high. They’ll face Gaffney away on Friday and welcome Hillcrest on Dec. 18 before the holiday.
“We’re showing how much better we are than we were last year,” said Jones. “We’re showing that we’re a real contender in 4-A. I mean, last year Byrnes stomped us both times we played them. This year, it’s a different story. We’re just a much better team all around.”
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Riverside 17 13 19 14 - 63
Byrnes 20 15 14 13 - 62
RIVERSIDE STAT LEADERS
Rylan Jones - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Mikkel Skinner - 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Julen Iturbe - 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Drew Cannon - 6 points, 4 assists