Riverside big men power Warriors to win over Greer, region championship
Mikkel Skinner went 9-9 from the free-throw line against Greer to power Riverside to the win.
Late in the third quarter, Riverside forward Mikkel Skinner caught a pass in the paint. He backed down his man and flipped the ball up toward the basket. Skinner’s arm was hacked on the way up. The shot went in anyway.
“And-one!” Skinner’s teammates shouted. They high-fived him on the way to the free-throw line.
The 6-foot-3 junior forward rolled his shoulders and popped his neck to the right. He flexed his arms.
Against Greer in a winner-take-all region title game, Skinner was unstoppable. He finished with 21 points and eight rebounds — both team highs. A 55 percent free-throw shooter this season, Skinner went an incredible 9-9 at the line Friday, many of those free throws coming in fourth-quarter crunch time.
Skinner, along with senior big man Julen Iturbe, powered the Warriors to a 59-52 win over the Jackets.
The win clinched Riverside its first region title since 1998.
“We’ve fallen short in this region a lot,” said Skinner. “This one’s really for the seniors. Julen told me before the game he really wanted this one, so I had to make sure I gave my all on the court.”
Throughout the season, the Warriors have embraced a team-first mentality that’s propelled them to new heights.
“Everybody has been buying in to what we do,” said Iturbe. “You see it on the stat sheets — points are scattered everywhere every game. Everybody’s going to do what they need to contribute to the team.”
On Friday, that way of playing pulled the Warriors through a dogfight of a game against the Jackets.
Both teams went back and forth throughout the evening. For every contested jumper somehow knocked down by Greer’s Amare Anderson, Skinner or Iturbe were there to answer with a tough two on the other end.
Drew Cannon hit timely long-range shots. Freshman point guard Keyon Knowles had one of his most effective offensive games of the season.
In the team’s biggest game of the year, a collective effort powered Riverside to a hard-fought win yet again. They closed out down the stretch, outscoring Greer 20-10 in the fourth quarter to win.
“I told the kids in the locker room before the game, we aren’t going to beat [Greer] by 25,” said Riverside coach Allen Arnold. “It’s not going to be like last time against them where we were up double-digits the whole time. This is going to be a dogfight. We just wanted to get
ourselves in a position to win the game at the end.”
“We practice end-of-game scenarios at practice all the time,” said Iturbe. “Everybody stayed mentally locked in. Even when [Greer] was leading, with their crowd going crazy, we stayed under control and knew what we had to do.”
After the game, a brief verbal altercation broke out between players of both teams. Such is almost to be expected between region rivals in a high-stakes matchup. Both teams quickly filed toward their respective locker rooms after the commotion.
For all the two teams know, that might not be the last time they’re face-to-face this season.
“They were disappointed. There were huge stakes and a lot of pride on the line, and they really wanted to beat us,” said Arnold. “I mean, these schools are how far apart? Seven miles? It just comes with the territory.
“But I’ll say this. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them down the road in the playoffs. That’s a great team over there.”
For Greer, its playoff journey begins Feb. 14 with a home game against Indian Land. They’ll be the No. 2 seed. Riverside — the No. 1 seed — will begin its road with a Feb. 14 matchup against South Pointe. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. tip.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Riverside 16 10 13 20 - 59
Greer 10 11 21 10 - 52
RIVERSIDE STAT LEADERS
Mikkel Skinner - 21 points, 8 rebounds
Julen Iturbe - 17 points, 7 rebounds
Drew Cannon - 10 points
Keyon Knowles - 8 points
GREER STAT LEADERS
Amare Anderson - 24 points, 7 rebounds
Mikey Williams - 9 points
Isaiah Henry - 8 points
Zayn Valentine - 8 points