(Oakland) Riverside will look to carry over the momentum from an overtime win over IKM-Manning on Tuesday into their contest with Heartland Christian Thursday night.
The Bulldogs outlasted the Wolves on Tuesday by a score of 45-42.
Grady Jeppesen and Brogan Allensworth combined for all but ten of the team’s points. Riverside coach Nick Kroon says, “I knew going in they play hard. Their coach does a really good job and you know you are going to get their best effort. There is absolutely nothing that is easy about playing them. I knew we had a good shot if we matched their energy and intensity. We really did that. I thought we executed pretty well down the stretch, mixed with a little bit of luck. I was really proud of our guys.”
The return of Drake Woods to the lineup has been a big plus for the Bulldogs. “He’d been out for a couple of weeks so getting his senior leadership and he’s confident with the ball. He’s in outstanding shape physically and able to play defense for four quarters. The big thing I noticed with Drake coming back was we got some steals that we hadn’t had in the first few games.”
Grady Jeppesen leads the Bulldogs at 17.8 points per game. The freshman is shooting better than 52% from the floor. “As far as a freshman some of the things he’s doing our really magnificent. That’s a testament to the work he’s put in. He’s a great kid.”
Brogan Allensworth is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Riverside beat Heartland Christian 49-20 last year. The Eagles come into Thursday’s contest at 2-2. They’ve beaten Whiting and Iowa School for the Deaf, their losses are to Griswold and Fremont-Mills. Pregame coverage for the Riverside vs Heartland Christian boys basketball game hits the air at around 7:30 p.m.
