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Loyalsock makes quick work of Riverside; opens state title defense strong

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Brendan Clark drained an early 3-pointer. Then he hit another. Then it was Jaylen Andrews and Jaiden Ross who started pumping treys in.

Like a relay team, Loyalsock kept passing the baton and another teammate heated up. And the Lancers lapped the field Wednesday against Riverside, opening their Class AAA state championship defense in impressive fashion.

Ross scored a career-high 24 points and five players connected on 13 3-pointers as Loyalsock steamrolled Riverside, 87-64 in its state tournament opener at C.I.’s Gymnasium. Saraj Ali (20 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) produced a double-double, while Andrews (13) and Clark (12) also reached double figures. The Lancers made 58 percent of their shots and earned a spot in Saturday’s second round against District 12 champion West Catholic at a time and place to be determined.

“We all felt we had to step up this game and fortunately we did,” Ross said. “We had a lot of guys in double digits, we all played great defensive games, so you can’t really ask for much better than that.”

“We saw Clark hit a couple early and Jaylen, then Jaiden,” reserve Bradyon Miller said after scoring eight points and knocking down two 3-pointers. “It just kind of propelled into shooting and it gave everyone a lot of confidence.”

Ali is the lone starter back from last year’s state champion, but Loyalsock has developed weapons throughout its rotation all season and five players are averaging more than nine points per game. All that work and explosiveness came together against Riverside and Loyalsock (24-4) never trailed after early in the first quarter. The Lancers were scoring early and often, building a 46-34 halftime lead and then extending that lead to as many as 27 in the second half.

Riverside also was playing quite well. The Vikings made 11 3-pointers, hit 6 of 9 during the first half and made four straight at one point in the second quarter. That had them within 30-26 midway through the second, but they simply could not keep up. Gage Patterson ignited a 16-8 flurry with a 3-pointer and Riverside never pulled within single digits in the second half.

Those players who did not start a year ago still played key roles in helping Loyalsock win that state championship. They battled against them each day at practice, making the starters better along the way. Now they are playing featured roles and handling those quite well, too.

“We needed that swag to get into the states. You have to have that,” Loyalsock coach Ron Insinger said. “There’s a fine line you’re walking between excessive cockiness and that swag, but you need to feel it. You need to have a good feeling about what you do out there and I was pleased with that tonight.”

Loyalsock’s good feelings started in the opening few minutes. The Lancers made four of their first five 3-point shots and never really slowed down. Miller’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer which ended that half was Loyalsock’s ninth and the Lancers finished shooting 13 of 21 from behind the arc.

Loyalsock was not shooting for the sake of shooting either. The Lancers effectively ran their offense, moved the ball inside and outside and set each other up for good shots all night, reflected in the 24 assists produced. It was a case of pick your poison for Riverside and whichever option it chose proved fatal.

At times it looked like Steph Curry had cloned himself because the barrage did not stop in the second half. Andrews connected on consecutive 3-pointers early in the third quarter and helped Loyalsock move ahead, 56-39. Ross built off his fabulous performance against Troy in the district final and made 10 of his final 13 shots, including four 3-pointers. The senior guard scored 10 second-quarter points and helped Loyalsock drop the hammer in the second half, connecting on all but one of his six shots.

“It’s the first round of states, so we have to come out and show everybody what we’re made of,” Ross said. “I just shot with confidence and luckily it was going in.”

Literally, nearly everything was going in during the third quarter as Loyalsock broke open the game and erased all Riverside comeback hopes. The Lancers made 75 percent of their shots that quarter and scored every which way. Six players produced points during that span, too, as starters and reserves all made big impacts. By late in the third quarter, Loyalsock led 70-44 and began putting the finishing touches on its 15th straight playoff win.

Miller, Patterson and Tyler Gee all played significant roles off the bench and each player dealt three assists, Patterson producing his soon after entering in the first quarter when Loyalsock surged ahead, 20-14. Gee added two steals and Miller made two first-half 3-pointers. Nate Bauman also had three assists, Clark grabbed five rebounds, Ali blocked three shots and the Loyalsock made more than 50 percent of its shots in all four quarters.

A team that was pushed to the brink in the first two rounds of districts has come thundering back since the second quarter against Troy in last Saturday’s district championship. Since then, Loyalsock has outscored its last two opponents by 59 points.

“Perhaps it was good that we did struggle against Southern and Mount Carmel because they were eye openers,” Insinger said. “They realize that we had to play much better and they’re giving it 100 percent now.”

Loyalsock knows it must continue that trend against West Catholic, which easily dispatched of Tulpehocken Wednesday night. Like last year when it beat powerful teams like Executive Education and Math, Civics and Sciences, though, Loyalsock is focusing only on what it does. Practices are serious, players are focused and they are also enjoying the moments so many strive for, but which so few get to experience.

For the seniors, Wednesday’s game was the last one they will experience on their home court. What a way to go out.

“It was amazing,” Ross said. “The crowd was wild. For me and a couple of my teammates this is the last game we’ll ever play here, so it was definitely a memorable one.”

RIVERSIDE (64)

Frankie Antoniacci 7 1-2 15, Matt Godlewski 3 2-2 10, Gerry Rose 4 0-0 10, Anthony Karpinski 7 0-1 18, Michael Samsell 3 0-0 8, Matt Alfieri 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 3-5 64.

LOYALSOCK (87)

Saraj Ali 7 6-6 20, Brendan Clark 4 2-2 12, Jaiden Ross 10 0-0 24, Jaylen Andrews 5 0-0 13, Nate Bauman 0 0-0 0, Gage Patterson 2 0-0 6, Tyler Gee 1 0-0 2, Braydon Miller 3 0-1 8, Alec Kulp 1 0-0 2. Totals 33 8-9 87.

Riverside 14 20 13 17-64

Loyalsock 20 26 24 17-87

3-pointers: Riverside 11 (Karpinski 4, Godlewski 2, Rose 2, Samsell 2, Alfieri); Loyalsock 13 (Ross 4, Andrews 3, Clark 2, Patterson 2, Miller 2).

Records: Loyalsock 24-4. Riverside 15-9.

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