Timberwolves remain undefeated
Submitted by admin on Thu, 01/09/2025 - 14:02
By A.J. Gates
With conference crossover victories against Barneveld and Monticello last week, coach Jim Wagner and his River Ridge boys basketball team kept their unblemished record intact, improving to 5-0 in league play and 9-0 overall.
Heading into this week’s action, the Timberwolves remain in a first-place tie with Highland (5-0) in the Six Rivers West conference standings, both teams sitting one game ahead of the Chieftains of Potosi (4-1).
Coach Wagner’s T-Wolves played back-to-back games last Thursday and Friday, picking up a 61-39 victory over host Barneveld on Thursday and a 68-21 home win over Monticello on Friday night.
In their make-up game last Thursday night at Barneveld, the Timberwolves turned what was a close game in the first half, into a decisive victory in the second.
At the half, River Ridge held a slim lead of 27-24 over the host Eagles, led by junior point guard Brandon Davis with 11 first-half points and senior guard Ty Adrian with six.
The Timberwolves dominated in the second half, stepping up their defensive pressure to outscore the Eagles, 34-15, and secure a 22-point victory.
Davis, who went 7-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from downtown, finished the night with a double-double, scoring a team-high 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Davis also had a team-high six assists to go along with two steals.
Ty Adrian, Elliott Thornton and Andrew Nies nearly had double-doubles of their own, Adrian finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds, Nies with eight points and five boards, and Thornton with seven points and six boards.
The Timberwolves shot well from the field, especially from 3-point range where they were 7-of-15, while making 14-of-35 from inside the arc. They were 12-of-18 from the free throw line, committed 13 turnovers and out-rebounded their opponent 38-25.
The following Friday night, River Ridge cranked up their defensive pressure against the visiting Ponies of Monticello, who committed 31 total turnovers, which the Timberwolves converted into 43 points.
Outscoring the Ponies 45-12 in the first half and 23-9 in the second, coach Wagner’s squad cruised to a 68-21 victory.
Behind their opportunistic defense, the Timberwolves made 28-of-56 total shot attempts, going 26-of-45 from 2-point range, and just 2-of-11 from downtown. They were 10-of-16 from the free throw line, committed 13 turnovers and out-rebounded their opponent 31-23.
Junior guard Brandon Davis, who averages a team-high 16.3 points this season, led River Ridge with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, dished out a team-high eight assists and came away with a team-high five steals.
Senior Andrew Nies chipped in 11 points, three boards and five steals, while fellow senior Ty Adrian added 10 points, three assists and three steals in the victory.
Following this past Tuesday night’s home game against visiting Shullsburg, the River Ridge boys will travel to Argyle this Friday night, then will hosts Belmont next Monday evening.
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