By Molly Seales
The Riverdale Rebel basketball team graduated 5 seniors in the Class of 2021-Parker Almond, Brennan Edie, Paul Messenger, Garrett Wilhite, and Noah Wren. They lost quite a few experienced players, but they are already working hard to make up for it. The Rebels went 3-3 on the week, losing to Ringgold twice and Ebarb once.
On Tuesday, June 22, the Rebels won one game and lost one game. They first beat the PCA Knights 59-37. Senior Ty Jones led the scoring with 18 points and also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Senior Caden Long added 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 1 steal. Junior Thad Bates and senior Reagan Huddleston added 7 points each, while junior Ben Almond added 5 points. Senior Denver Williams had 4 points and was HUGE on the boards with 15 rebounds. Denver also had 4 steals and 2 assists. Junior Jace Wilhite added 2 points, along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Riverdale lost a heartbreaker to the Ebarb Rebels 56-55 on a basket by Ebarb in the last seconds of the game. Ty Jones poured in 28 points along with 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, and taking a charge. Reagan Huddleston joined him in double figures with 11 points. He also pulled down 7 rebounds. Caden Long added 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Denver Williams had 5 points and led in rebounding with 8 boards. He also had 2 steals and 1 assist. Ben Almond added 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist.
On Thursday, June 24, the Rebels dropped their game to Ringgold by a score of 53-32. Ty Jones led the Rebels in scoring with 20 points. He also had 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and took a charge. Sophomore Ryder Huddleston added 4 points and 2 rebounds. Jace Wilhite had 3 points and 1 assist. Denver Williams had 2 points and pulled down an outstanding 10 rebounds. He also had a steal. Sophomore Hayden Hillman added 2 points and a rebound, while sophomore Kyle Guillory added a free throw. The Rebels beat the PCA Knights 41-34. Newcomer Thad Bates, who is a junior, came off the bench to lead the Rebels in scoring with 12 points. He also had 2 rebounds. Ty Jones had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Denver Williams had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal. Caden Long had 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 1 steal. Kyle Guillory added 4 points. Junior Mason Murray, who has been putting in extra hours in the gym this summer, added 3 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 blocked shot. Ben Almond also had 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 1 assist. Reagan Huddleston had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, while Ryder Huddleston added 2 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist. Freshman Aston Hester added 2 points.
On Friday, the Rebels once again split the games, first losing to Ringgold 40-29. Ty Jones led in scoring with 11 points, while adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Denver Williams had 8 points and 3 rebounds, while Thad Bates had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal. Reagan Huddleston added 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. Mason Murray had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Ryder Huddleston came off the bench to lead the Rebels in rebounding with 6 boards. In their second game of the day, the Riverdale Rebels defeated the Ebarb Rebels 56-47, avenging their loss earlier in the week. Ty Jones and Denver Williams each had 11 points for Riverdale. Jones had 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Williams had 3 rebounds. Thad Bates again came off the bench to spark the Rebels, scoring 10 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, and getting 1 steal. Caden Long had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal. Ryder Huddleston had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Reagan Huddleston had 5 points, a rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Jace Wilhite had 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. Mason Murray rounded out the scoring with 2 points and had 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
The addition of junior Thad Bates and quality minutes from the returning juniors and sophomores showed that Riverdale will again be a force to be reckoned with this coming year. Coach Ty Hester thanked all of the parents that helped out and made this week possible, as well as the fans who showed up to support their teams. Coach Ty wished all of the teams the best of luck in the upcoming season.
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