By Sedrick Bolton III November 15, 2022
RIVERDALE In the fainting seconds of the game clock, Mundy's Mill senior Antonio Johnson hits the double clutch shot to force overtime in the first game of the season. The Tigers came back from being down 17 points in rival territory.
The Raiders led for the majority of the game. The Raiders stretched the floor with their three-point shooting, ending the game 6/13. Riverdale's forward Demario Spear was everywhere on the floor. He guarded the Tiger's primary ball handler, attacked the rim, and got his teammates involved with his passing. The Raiders were rolling as they led 32-20 at the half.
"The first half was great," said Head Coach Ty Townsend. "We were getting what he wanted, the defense was good to me in the first."
The second half, however, was a complete 180 from the previous two quarters the Tigers played.
Out the gate, they came out with a full court press that left Riverdale dazed. The physicality and aggression was something the Raiders was not used to in the flow of the game. Back to back possessions, Mundy's Mill had a steal and scored in transition, or caused Riverdale to throw arrant passes out of bounds.
"It was hard because we weren't communicating," said Spear. "When we were open, we wouldn't let the ball handler know we were open."
Not only were the Tigers' crowd reciprocated the energy their team was giving them on the court, you could feel the life being suck away from Riverdale. What was a 17-point deficit turned to only two.
"We let them dedicate the tempo and that's what allowed them to get back into the game," said Coach Townsend.
But with that intense defense came occasional fouling. Riverdale stayed with the lead by hitting their free throws. The Raiders led 53-48 with 1:49 left to play.
The Tigers, with all the momentum on their side, continued attacking the basket and kept applying that pressure. Johnson scored an and-1 layup to cut the deficit to two, but a lane violation negated the extra point. But Mundy's Mill caught a break with Riverdale getting called for a travel, leaving them with :22 left on the clock.
In that time, Mundy's Mill hurries to get a shot up. After a miss, a key rebound and pass from junior Dajuan Riddle to Johnson sets up the game-tying shot and force overtime with the 56-56.
In overtime, Riverdale got out to an early 6-2 start. But the full court press kept Mundy's Mill in the game, causing turnovers which resulted in points on the other end.
Riverdale led 66-65 with a player at the free throw line. He misses both and with :01 second left on the clock, the Tigers try a full court heave that was no good. The Raiders protect their lead and homecourt with the victory.
Riverdale has another home game November 17 against East Coweta.
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