By By AUTUMN GRAYSON / Niles Daily Star
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Another border battle did not end in favor of the Vikings Tuesday night.
The Niles boys' varsity basketball team lost a tough struggle to the South Bend Riley Wildcats 81-56 at Riley High School.
The Vikings slowly but surely lost sight of the Wildcats as they turned over the ball and handed over easy baskets too many times. After one period of play, Niles trailed by 10 points.
Yet by halftime, Riley had a 42-23 advantage over the Vikings.
In the final 5:40 of competition, Riley's Zac Cook put up a 3-point basket that would seal the fate of the game.
After Cook's shot, the Vikings would turnover the ball twice, which would lead to consecutive lay-ins by the Wildcats.
Jordan Parks and Michael Dodd led Niles with 14 and 12 points respectively.
Paul Dreher dominated with 11 rebounds and nine points. Demetrius Phillips added five rebounds for the Vikings.
Niles' record drops to 3-6 with the loss.
"We're still not where we need to be defensively. We're still giving up a lot of easy baskets," Niles coach Todd Pawielski explained after the game. "Tonight is disappointing. I just don't think we have the energy that we need to be successful. Tonight we weren't the team that we've been all year."
The Vikings’ will face the Benton Harbor Tigers at home Thursday night.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
NILES 56
Jordan Parks 5 3-3 14, Michael Dodd 4 4-5 12, David Garner 3 0-0 8, Seth Jordan 1 0-0 2, Andrew Brawley 0 0-0 0, Zachary Payne 0 0-2 0, Andre Thompson 1 0-0 2, Demetrius Phillips 2 0-0 5, Paul Dreher 3 3-4 9, Terrell Farrow 0 0-0 0, Zachary Pearson 1 2-2 4, Kyle Williams 0 0-0 0; Totals: 20 12-16 56
RILEY 81
J.T. Breavard 8 2-2 21, Nick Achille 3 2-4 10, Deangelo Jackson 1 1-2 3, Josh King 2 0-0 4, Taylor Williams 1 2-2 4, Pierre Burdette 1 1-3 3, Larry King 3 1-4 7, Zac Cook 5 2-2 14, Cody Henson 1 0-1 2, Nathan Townsell 6 1-2 13; Totals: 31 12-22 81
Niles 15 8 15 18 – 56
Riley 25 17 16 23 – 81
3-point field baskets: Garner (N) 2, Parks (N), Phillips (N), Breavard (R) 3, Achille (R) 2, Cook (R) 2. Total fouls: Niles 22, Riley 15. Fouled out: None. Records: Niles 3-6, Riley 10-2