Riverside basketball wins Hoops on the Hill tournament
Riverside’s Julen Iturbe was named Hoops on the Hill MVP.
Two games down, two blowout wins for Riverside basketball. And they already have some hardware to boast.
The Warriors cruised past Collins Hill (G.A.) and Hillcrest this weekend to claim the Hoops on the Hill Classic championship.
“You’re always nervous coming into those first couple of games in the season. You really don’t have a great feel of how you’re going to show up,” said Riverside head coach Allen Arnold. “But I thought we did a lot of good things both offensively and defensively. I’m really pleased with our first two outings.”
Riverside guard Rylan Jones and 6-foot-7 power forward Julen Iturbe were named to the all-tournament team. Iturbe claimed the Hoops on the Hill MVP award after averaging 14.5 points and eight rebounds at the tournament.
“This was expected from all of us coming into these games,” said Iturbe. “We’ve got a lot of returning players from last season. We did our part out here and played calm and took care of business.”
Iturbe, who officially committed to American University two weeks ago, was an unstoppable force down low in both games. As the tallest player on the court most nights, that’s to be expected. But what sets Iturbe apart is his ability to bring the ball up the court and attack off the dribble, along with his impressive clip from three-point range.
Iturbe shot 4-6 from deep against Collins Hill in Friday’s 66-44 win.
“When teams lay back off my shot, I like to let them know I really can do it all,” said Iturbe. “Since I was young, my dad’s been my mentor and has made sure I put in skill work knowing I probably won’t be tall enough to be a center when I get older. So I work on my craft everyday to be the most versatile player possible.”
“Julen did Julen things,” said Arnold. “His numbers usually aren’t outrageous, but he’s so much more than that. He makes so much happen on the court and makes everyone around him better.”
Against Hillcrest in Saturday’s tournament championship, Iturbe did more work in the paint, putting up 15 points in the 64-46 win. But it was Rylan Jones’ second-half surge that helped the Warriors pull away and break open a double-digit lead.
Jones scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half to help seal the win.
“Rylan gets to the rim so well. He’s decisively quick. He makes a move and he’s gone right by you. Most of his points in that run came from him driving to the basket. He’s just a really good, smart basketball player.”
The Warriors will look to continue their hot start to the season on Friday as they travel to Mauldin for a matchup with the Mavericks. Tip-off from Mauldin is slated for 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Riverside 25 16 16 9 - 66
Collins Hill 4 11 7 22 - 44
STAT LEADERS
Julen Iturbe - 14 points
Reeves Garner - 11 points
Drew Cannon - 10 points
SATURDAY
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Riverside 14 7 24 19 - 64
Hillcrest 8 10 16 12 - 46
STAT LEADERS
Julen Iturbe - 15 points
Rylan Jones - 13 points
Mikkel Skinner - 13 points