River Ridge gives Potosi first Six Rivers loss

By A.J. Gates

Editors note - due to space constraints this week, this article is online only.

Trailing by as many as 12 points late in the first half, coach Jim Wagner’s River Ridge Timberwolves used an inspirational second half performance to pull off a 67-58 victory over the host Chieftains of Potosi in a Six Rivers West boys basketball battle last Friday night.

The win propelled coach Wagner’s Timberwolves to a league record of 5-2 and overall mark of 11-4, keeping them well in the hunt for this year’s conference title.

After going unbeaten through the first go-around to their conference schedule, Friday night’s start to the second half brought with it the first conference loss for coach Mike Uppena’s Chieftains, who remain atop the league standings at 6-1, and are now 12-2 overall.

Friday night’s contest saw the host Chieftains jump out to an early 8-0 lead before the Timberwolves answered with seven consecutive points to pull back within one point six minutes into the contest.

Behind a 10-point scoring surge by senior Gavin Wunderlin, the Chieftains outscored River Ridge 22-11 in the next eight minutes to claim their largest lead of the game at 30-18 with 3:25 to play in the opening half.

River Ridge’s comeback effort essentially began with 3:13 to play in the first half, as a pair of 3-pointers from Brady Bunge sparked a 9-4 scoring run to close out the session for the Timberwolves, who trailed at the half, 34-27.

The Chieftains, who never trailed in the first half, got a team-high 10 points from Wunderlin, and seven from Isaiah Groom, while River Ridge was led by Bunge’s 13 points, which included four 3-pointers.

The second half belonged to River Ridge sophomore point guard Brandon Davis, who after being held scoreless in the first half, netted 19 points in the second on six field goals and a 6-for-7 performance at the free throw line.

Behind Davis, the Timberwolves came out in the second half with a 10-0 scoring run, claiming a 37-34 lead with 14:28 showing on the clock. River Ridge never trailed again from that point on, and extended their lead to as many as 14 points with 35 seconds to play.

The Chieftains, who were outscored 40-24 in the second half, managed to pull within six points with 5:08 to play in the game, but from that point on were outscored 10-2 in the ensuing four and a half minutes.

Down the stretch, coach Wagner’s Timberwolves converted on 6-of-9 free throw attempts in the final two minutes, including Davis, who went a perfect 4-for-4.

Despite not scoring a single point in the first half, Davis led the Timberwolves Friday night with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line. He also chipped in four rebounds, two steals and a team-high five assists.

Brady Bunge was close behind with 18 points, going a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range, while Matthew Nies, who was in foul trouble throughout most the game, finished with nine point before fouling out.

After making 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) shot attempts from the field in the first half, the Timberwolves knocked down 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) in the second. They were 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from downtown in the first session and 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) in the second.

Potosi, who has been making a living in the post this season, was outscored by the Timberwolves, 26-24, down low, and made 20-of-57 (35.1 percent) total shot attempts, including 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from long range.

Wunderlin, who scored 10 points in the first half, finished with a team-high 18 on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line. He also chipped in five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the loss.

Isaiah Groom, who was held to just four points in the second half, finished with 11, while also pulling down six boards. Dawson Weber chipped in eight points, followed by Aidan Uppena with seven.

Last Tuesday night against visiting Cassville, coach Wagner’s Timberwolves took control of the game early and cruised to a 79-37 victory, putting the continuous clock into motion midway through the second half.

The Timberwolves held a halftime lead of 43-19, then outscored the Comets 36-18 in the second half.

Matthew Nies led River Ridge with 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free throw line, while also pulling down five rebounds and dishing out three assists. He scored 17 of those points in the first half.

Brady Bunge chipped in 17 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the floor, including 2-of-4 from beyond 3-point range.

Sophomore point guard Brandon Davis finished the night with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, but more impressively, also dished out a whopping 10 assists.

As a team, the Timberwolves made 27-of-47 (57.4 percent) total shot attempts, including 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from downtown. They outscored the Comets 40-16 in the paint and committed 10 turnovers to Cassville’s 21.

Following this past Tuesday nights non-conference contest at Boscobel, the Timberwolves (5-2, 11-4) next host Highland (4-3, 7-6) Thursday, Jan. 25.