By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – An entire second half of hot shooting by the Riley Wildcats almost cost the Niles varsity basketball team a loss in Tuesday evening's border game at the Viking gymnasium.
Niles opened the first half with a demanding 44-22 lead at halftime. However, the Vikes were outscored 20-5 in the third period as Riley made a huge attempt to take the lead for the first time all night.
As the final buzzer sounded, though, the Vikings had held on and claimed a 73-62 victory over the Wildcats.
"Riley just made every shot they looked at," Niles head coach Todd Pawielski said of the Wilcats' second half performance. "We were letting them get way too much dribble penetration and when they had the open shots they knocked them down."
Riley opened the second half with an explosion and went on a 15-0 run, coming within seven points of the lead. Danny Rodts made the first basket of the third with 2:51 on the clock when he bombed a 3-pointer in the net, bumping Niles' lead back to 10, 47-37. Another five points from the Wildcats shortened the gap to five, but a last second shot by Seth Jordan gave Niles the 49-42 lead heading into the fourth. Riley nailed five 3-pointers in the third alone.
Despite another strong quarter of 3-pointers, the Vikings still managed to stay ahead of the Wildcats throughout the final period. Riley came within four points of a tie, 59-55 with just over two minutes to play, but a key performance from Niles' Andre Thompson and strong free throw shooting allowed the Vikes to claim the win.
The Vikings went 12-for-13 at the charity strip in the final four minutes of play. Thompson added four buckets and a free throw to help contribute to the win. Niles also got points from Damian Bryant, Rodts, Jordan Parks and Taylor Williams in the final eight minutes of play.
"Andre Thompson's 13 points off the bench were pivital. He did a tremendous job offensively for us in the fourth. Damian Bryant also did outstanding from the free throw line. He made them when it mattered," Pawielski said.
Bryant ended the night with 11 points and six assists. Rodts had a game high 26 points, including nine rebounds. Kurt Bourbonnais ended with six points, while Williams had five.
For Riley, Zac Cook and Jared Drake each ended with 15 points, J.T. Breveard had 14 and Doug Jackson added 11.
Niles will head to Benton Harbor on Friday night for a Big 16 West Division match-up with the Tigers. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Niles … 73
Riley … 62
NILES (73) – Jordan Parks 0 2-2 2, Damian Bryant 3 5-6 11, Seth Jordan 1 0-0 2, Andre Thompson 6 1-2 13, Danny Rodts 5 4 4-4 26, Taylor Williams 1 3-4 5, Demetrius Phillips 1 0-0 2, Taylor Robson 0 2-2 2, Mat Peters 2 0-0 4, Kurt Bourbonnais 3 0-1 6. Totals: 22 4 17-21 73.
RILEY (62) – Jared Drake 3 3 0-0 15, J.T. Breveard 5 2-5 14, Doug Jackson 4 3-4 11, Zac Cook 2 3 2-2 15, Lee Ross 2 2-4 7, Nate Townsell 0 0-0 0, Walter Ballard 0 0-0 0, Pierce Burdette 0 0-0 0, Larry King 0 0-0 0, Cody Henson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 6 6-15 62.
Niles 17 44 49 73
Riley 10 22 42 62