Riverside had undefeated Plymouth on the ropes heading into the fourth quarter but last year’s state runners up came out swinging in the final stanza and delivered the Knights a knockout blow to win 47-34.
Riverside trailed the Vikings 26-16 at halftime but caught fire in the third as Akeem Miller and Jamal Whitehurst combined for 10 points as the Knights went into fourth trailing only 33-30.
In the fourth the Vikings poured water on the Knights as Carl McCray and Adrian Moore teamed up to for eight points, while the Plymouth defense allowed a mere four points to help the team win its 15th straight game.
“Down the stretch we knew we were in a game but we began to make our shots and move the ball a little bit better,” Plymouth coach Marvin Davenport said. “The most important thing is that we showed heart when we needed to.”
With only six active players on their roster, the Knights showed heart as well but ran out of steam down the stretch.
“We were able to cut their lead down to three near the end of the third but I think we just ran out of gas,” Riverside coach Bobby Williams said. “We’ve lost four or five players in the last two weeks for various reasons. We played six guys tonight and our heart and soul Adam Parker fouled out.
“We scored (4) points in the last quarter and you’re not going to beat a team like Plymouth doing that.”
The Knights were led by Miller who tallied a team-high 14 points, while Whitehurst added seven. Riverside also got strong play from Mario Moore and Daniel Everett in the paint.
Plymouth was powered by McCray, who led all scorers with 16 points, while Kahalil Sheppard scored 10 and Adrian Moore added 8.

Plymouth    12    14    7    14    —    47
Riverside    5    11    14    4    —    34
Vikings (47)
Khalil Sheppard 10, Pitt 2, Spruill 5, Moore 8, Carl McCray 16, Holloway 4, Ferebee 1.
Knights (34)
Akeem Miller 14, Whitehurst 7, Everett 5, Moore 8.