Riverside Makes The Grade

Riverside enjoyed the Frontier League’s main course, but the Rams are still hungry.

The postseason tournament for the league’s state berth is just the kind of desert the Rams want.

Riverside, in the first year of Class AA competition after moving up from Class A, finished second in both the boys and girls standings.

The District 7 tournament begins Friday night at Eastern Washington University. The Riverside boys play Cheney and the girls play Pullman.

“(No matter what happens, the season) won’t be a failure,” Riverside boys coach Brent Monroe said. “The kids have proven to the community and league that Riverside can compete at this level. … They’ve have proven to everyone they can compete and will compete in the future and they’re having a good time.”

What makes the boys’ success surprising is that last year they were not one of the two Northeast A teams to make state and their leader, senior Kasey Ahrens, went from not making the All-NEA first or second team to leading the Frontier League in scoring.

“Kasey is very even-keeled,” Monroe said. “He would give up points for the win. He’s a quiet leader. He sets his example with his action rather than his word. That is unique in these days.”

A 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard, Ahrens averaged 23.3 poitns, passing David Schillinger of league champ West Valley the final two weeks.

“I think going to Phoenix for a BCI tournament last summer helped a lot,” Ahrens said. “It makes you a lot better seeing better competition. During summer basketball I tried to make (teammates) play a lot harder, knowing we would have to play a lot harder in the new league.”

After a short transition, the Rams proved they were ready to compete.

“At first the kids were apprehensive and it showed in first league game against West Valley,” Monroe said. “It was very evident in the first half, they were very tentative. In the second half, they came out and outscored them. The confidence level rose immediately after that.”

Not that Frontier teams were completely foreign to Riverside.

“We scheduled Frontier League teams in past non-league games,” Monroe said. “That gave us a foundation to base a lot of our thoughts on. It’s been a lot more physical, that’s been our biggest adjustment.”

Speed also caught Ahrens’ attention.

“At the beginning of the summer, we were a little hesitant, but we played a lot of teams in the summer, so the regular season wasn’t much different. We felt pretty confident,” he said. “They push the ball a lot faster on both ends of the floor. Just playing against it helps. You have to get used to the more up-tempo game.”

Not all of the adjustment was on the court.

“(The new league is) more fun, primarily for the recognition kids get,” Monroe said. “The crowds are bigger and (the games) seem a little bit more important.”

The Rams made all the adjustments, beating West Valley in the rematch on the road and splitting with the other playoff teams, including a win at Cheney.

“We said we wanted to go to the district tournament,” Ahrens said. “That was our goal as a team. We felt confident we could reach that goal.

“(Now) we have keep our composure. We’re going to have to step up if we want to go anywhere. This is the time of the season to make sure everything is clicking. I think we are.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FRONTIER TOURNAMENT Information on the Frontier League’s Excell-District 7 AA basketball tournament, which begins Friday at Eastern Washington University. Other tournament dates: Saturday, Wednesday, March 1 and March 2 (if necessary). At stake: One state berth for boys and girls. Boys pairings: No. 3 Riverside (14-6) vs. No. 2 Cheney (10-10) at 5:15; No. 4 Pullman (12-8) vs. No. 1 West Valley (16-4) at 9:15. Girls pairings: No. 4 East Valley (11-9) vs. No. 1 Cheney (17-3) at 3:30; No. 3 Pullman (7-13) vs. No. 2 Riverside (13-7) at 7:30. Defending champions: The Cheney girls won the league and tournament titles, going on to finish sixth at state. The West Valley boys won the league title but Colville won the tournament, although the Indians did not place at state.