Big First Half Carries Riverside to Win Over Copper Mountain
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Copper Mountain (3-6, 0-0) | 23 | 39 | 62 |
|
Riverside (5-4, 0) | 43 | 35 | 78 |
The Riverside City College men's basketball team hosted the first day of the 49th Annual Riverside Holiday Classic sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). The Tigers faced off against the Copper Mountain College Fighting Cacti and burst out of the gates with an offense that punched the Fight Cacti in the jaw. They were unable to recover as Riverside cruised to a commanding 78-62 win.
A 46.3 shooting percentage, which was a 16.9 percent increase from the previous week, led to the most points Riverside has put up since mid-November. The Tigers dominated the boards with 38 total rebounds to the Fighting Cacti's 28 while forcing 19 turnovers. They capitalized off of the Copper Mountain turnovers leading to 19 points.
Leading the way was sophomore guard Zekiah LoVett. After failing to put up double-digit point totals in the past two games, he erupted for 21 points highlighted by a 5-for-9 mark from three-point range. He went 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) in total.
Freshman forward Robert Ayala continues to stand as the dominant man in the middle. He dropped 15 points after failing to reach double-digits in the last game. He entertained the idea of a double-double with six rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Melvin Walker put together his strongest scoring night of the season with 13 points on just a 5-for-8 night shooting. He was money from long range by hitting three triples. Sophomore Amir Davis also flirted with a double-double as seen in nine rebounds and eight buckets, while freshman Jalen Monroe led the bench in scoring with eight points.
Riverside (5-4) will continue action tomorrow as they will play the Cerritos College Falcons at 6 p.m. Live stats and streaming will be provided on www.rccathletics.com
