DV meets Riverside in first game of a late basketball season

On Monday, Jan. 11, high school basketball finally got underway. It started several weeks late, so this will be a shortened season.

Delaware Valley was a very pleasant host to Riverview, who is picked as one of the better teams in District 2.

Delaware Valley was gracious enough to serve up victories to Riverview in both the Junior Varsity game and then the Varsity game.

This of course was not the plan, but DV was up against a very solid team. To make matters, worse DV was short-handed, with several key players unable to play.

The JVs, as always, were up first. DV looked good in the first half, closing out with a 27-18 lead.

In the third period, the wheels fell off of the DV machine. They just weren’t able to sink a bucket. They played very well, rebounding, blocking shots, ball handling, crisp passing, and setting up plays. The only thing was that shots did not fall in for them. The whole rest of the game it was more of the same.

With three minutes remaining in the third period, Riverside took control and never let go. It was 29-28 at the end of the period, and eventually Riverside went on to win the game.

Varsity

Now the Varsity team comes out to play. DV came out smoking and took a quick lead of 9-2.

That was as good as it would get. Like the JVs, the big boys could not put the ball in the hoop. Like the JVs they played well, and if they had hit 55 to 65 percent of their shots, this would have been a great game. However, by half-time, DV was down 31-22.

The rest of the game it seemed like everything that Riverside threw at the basket went in. They hit everything: outside shots, three pointers, and layups. Despite that, DV actually played well but they just could not score, and Riverside could not miss.

The result was a Riverside 64-47 victory.

The outlook for both teams is this: Riverside is a good and solid team. If this was a full season, I am sure that they could win 15 to 20 games. They are not a great team, and the lack of size will hurt them against bigger teams. Their tallest played looked like he stood about 6 feet, 1 inch.

Delaware Valley did not embarrass themselves. This seems, in my humble opinion, to be something DV has had trouble with, that is, making the baskets. They do get hot at times, but they can also get ice cold. Riverside had 15 players on the floor while DV had 11. This tells me that DV was missing four players who might very well be key players. When they are at full strength they might very well be a team to recon with. It also might have been the difference that night.

Unfortunately, due to Covid, we were forced to keep our distance from the players and coaches. I was not able to talk to either ,so my comments are purely my opinion based on my observations.

I do look forward to seeing this team at full strength, as they should be a lot of fun to watch.

Next up will be a home game for DV against Tunkhannock on Wednesday, Jan. 13, as this paper goes to press.