The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Riverside showing progress in coach’s first season
Riverside endured a rocky start to its first season under Coach Matt Grendel.
The Beavers lost six of their first seven games. Riverside entered its winter break after a loss to its rival, Harvey, in the Battle of Painesville on Dec. 23.
“We were definitely at a low point in the season,” Grendel said. “We were 1-6 and just came off a couple bad losses in a row to (Harvey) and Mayfield the night before.”
The time off rejuvenated the Beavers. Riverside picked up a win Jan. 2 over University to kickstart a stretch in which the Beavers won four of five games, including a 74-70 win against Chardon.
Two and a half weeks later, Riverside’s season hit its peak. Jarrod Spiesman’s last-second 3-pointer Feb. 2 gave the Beavers a 57-54 win over Brush, handing the Arcs their first loss in Western Reserve Conference play.
The team’s best play was a byproduct of what Grendel’s tried to instill during his first year as head coach.
“The biggest thing is to get these guys to buy into hard work and staying positive, staying confident,” Grendel said. “We just want guys to really buy into what we’re trying to do and be committed to the program and everything and understand that winning is not easy.”
Riverside lost its next four but closed the season with back-to-back wins over North and Harvey. Freshman Mason Stephens capped the Beavers’ regular season with a buzzerbeating 3-pointer for a 6360 win over the rival Red Raiders in overtime.
Riverside finished the regular season 8-14.
Grendel saw growth during the season.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress,” Grendel said. “Our team, when we play with confidence and we play with urgency and everything, I think we can be a pretty solid team which obviously showed with some of the wins we have.”
Andrew Keller built off a breakout sophomore season and led Riverside in nearly every statistical category. Keller ranked among the area’s leaders with 18.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and two steals per game.
Grendel benefited from Keller’s presence as a testament to the benefits of hard work.
“Andrew is a very hard worker,” Grendel said. “Every day in practice, he’s always working his butt off. That’s why, more often than not, every team he’s usually on in practice usually wins because he’s able to lead by example.”
The Beavers’ breakout player this season was Spiesman. The 6-foot-4 junior forward was cut from the middle school basketball team and began the season on the junior varsity roster.
Spiesman played his best in Riverside’s biggest wins. He scored a season-high 20 points in the win over Brush and posted 17 in the Beavers’ win against Chardon.
Grendel looks forward to next season with Keller and Spiesman as the foundation for a successful second year.
First, the Beavers travel to East Tech for a sectional semifinal Feb. 28.
“I just want to see our guys play hard, play with confidence,” Grendel said. “I’m sure East Tech’s going to pressure us and everything. I just hope our guys relax, play with confidence and expect to go there and compete, just play their best.”
Grand achievement
A pair of area players joined the 1,000-point club.
Gilmour’s C.J. Charleston dropped 29 points in the Lancers’ victory against South on Feb. 20. Charleston, a junior, joined Dechlan Kirincic as the second Gilmour player to reach the 1,000-point plateau this season.
Charleston is the Lancers’ second-leading scorer at 19.9 points per game this season. He’s averaged 29 points over Gilmour’s last three games, including a season-high 36 in the Lancers’ win over University on Feb. 16.
Andrews Osborne’s T.J. Chapman scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season. Chapman is the first player in program history to score 1,000 points for the Phoenix.
Through 18 games, Chapman leads Andrews Osborne with 16.4 points per game.