HURON TOWNSHIP – Following a winter break, the Huron League was back in action on Tuesday evening when Riverview went up against New Boston Huron in a boys basketball battle.
It’s been a strong start to the season so far for Riverview, who came in fresh off a 52-44 win over Monroe in a showcase game down at Wayne State University on Jan 3. Meanwhile, it has been a bit of a longer layoff for Huron, who last played on Dec 27 when they squandered a lead late vs Onsted at the annual Airport Holiday Showcase.In their first of two scheduled meetings this season, the host Chiefs gave it their all but ultimately fell short against the reigning conference champion Pirates by a final score of 68-44.
“I thought we played really, really well tonight,” Riverview head coach Tim Stamper said after the win. “Huron is one of the hardest-working teams in the area, and we were very concerned with their intensity, the pressure, the way in which they play.
“I thought we came out, and my only message in the game was relentless energy,” Stamper added. “That’s one of our mantras this year.”
Riverview got off to a hot start early on Tuesday, quickly building up a double-digit lead in the form of a 17-6 score at the end of the first quarter.
Huron eventually found their legs and some offense in the second. Outpacing the Pirates in the frame, the Chiefs were able to chunk their deficit back to single digits and, thanks to a buzzer beater by Jackson Surma, found themselves only down 31-24 at the half.
While a nice burst from the hosts, Riverview went back to their dominating form. A big 20-point third quarter helped the Bucs bring their lead back into double-digit range going into the final quarter.
“In the past couple weeks, ever since the holiday break, we really have not lived up to it,” Stamper said. “So I thought tonight we did a good job at responding and doing all we talked about was run the floor, play defense, and rebound, and I think we did those things.”
The final stanza saw the game open up considerably for Stamper’s crew, which outscored Huron 17-5 over the final eight minutes of regulation.
The 68 points scored by Riverview is the most that Huron has given up to a single opponent this season. The 24-point difference is also the largest margin of defeat for the Chiefs.
“I felt like we never settled into the game,” Huron head coach Ted Tackett said. “I mean, (we did) late in the second but again, the second half, we hung in there, and then we kind of just dropped our guard. We tried to play fast, we tried to play physical, disciplined, and unfortunately, (Riverview) beat us on every aspect of them being the things that I think we are, they exerted that.”
Leading the way in a winning effort from the Pirates was Noah Swearingen, who scored a game-high 22 points in the contest. He was aided by classmate Jack Doyle with 16 points while junior Davian Daniels chipped in with 11 points.
“I mean he’s special with the ball in his hands,” Stamper said of the senior Swearingen. “Even when he’s not scoring, he’s taking pressure off the other guys. So he’s just a special ball player and honestly, he’s just huge.
“He just takes pressure off everybody because there’s so much game planning that focuses on him.”
Meanwhile, for Huron , they were led by the aforementioned junior Surma who had 14 points on the night. Zennon Grant also finished in double digits for the Chiefs with 10 points.
UP NEXT
Another league matchup is on the docket for both teams later this week on Friday, Jan 9.
Riverview (8-1, 3-0 Huron League) will return home and play host to Monroe Jefferson. Stamper said the big focus right now is on one end of the floor.
“Defense, defense, defense,” Stamper explained. “The offense is going to come, but ultimately, we have to continue to get better on the defensive side of the game.”
For Huron (4-4, 2-1 Huron League), they will travel to Monroe St Mary Catholic Central. Tackett explained the Chiefs’ current mindset going into the game.
“You know, we just got to go back to being an extremely physical, disciplined, defensive team,” Tackett said. “And if we can do that, we’ll be fine. But tonight, we didn’t show that.”
Photo gallery of Riverview vs New Boston Huron in a Huron League boys hoops affair
