River Ridge boys drop two games
River Ridge senior Brandon Davis dribbles between a pair of Eagle defenders during the Timberwolves home game against Barneveld last Thursday, Dec. 4. Davis ended up with a double-double after scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
By A.J. Gates
With losses to North Crawford and Barneveld last week, coach Dan Moris and his River Ridge Timberwolves were left waiting for their first victory of the 2025-26 boys basketball season.
The Timberwolves fell to 0-3 early into their season schedule with a 70-61 loss to the host Trojans last Tuesday night, followed by a 75-54 home loss to the Eagles the following Thursday night, which counts as a conference game against an opponent from the Six Rivers East.
At North Crawford last Tuesday night, the Timberwolves gave the state’s third-ranked Trojans all they could handle in the first half where they held a 31-28 lead at the intermission.
A 3-point basket by River Ridge’s Brock Bunge with 14:40 to play in the second half gave River Ridge their final lead of 36-35 before North Crawford used a 12-2 scoring run to claim a 47-38 lead three minutes later.
The Trojans held their largest lead of 58-45 with 7:12 to play in the contest, and closed out their victory by making 10-of-15 free throw attempts in the final five minutes.
The Timberwolves were led by senior point guard Brandon Davis, who scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Davis also pulled down a team-high and school record 19 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.
Finishing with eight points each were Brock Bunge and Lane Copsey, while Jackson White and Noah Copsey each added seven.
Noah Copsey also dished out a team-high five assists, while Reese Drew had a team-high three steals.
As a team, the Timberwolves made 25-of-79 (31.6 percent) total shot attempts, including 6-of-34 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range. They were 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from the free throw line, committed 19 turnovers and out-rebounded the Trojans 52-39.
Last Thursday night the Timberwolves hosted Barneveld in a Six Rivers conference game, where the Eagles overcame a one-point deficit to outscore River Ridge 47-25 in the second half.
Coach Moris’ squad held a 29-28 lead at the half, after taking a 27-25 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening half. They then saw the Eagles rip off 47 points in the second half to claim a 21-point victory.
Brandon Davis and Kameren Reynolds led River Ridge with 14 points each, Davis on 4-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, and Reynolds on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-2 from the charity stripe.
Davis also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to record a double-double, while also dishing out a team-high five assists in the loss.
Brock Bunge chipped in 10 points and Noah Copsey seven, as River Ridge made 17-of-47 (36 percent) total shot attempts, including 5-of-21 (24 percent) from long range. They were 15-of-21 (71 percent) from the charity stripe, committed 14 turnovers and were narrowly out-rebounded 34-32.
Following this past Tuesday night’s home game against Shullsburg, the Timberwolves will travel to Albany Friday night then will host Wauzeka-Steuben next Monday evening.
