AVON — Riverside High School’s Aaron Stewart is used to having his biggest moments in the biggest of games. And, on Tuesday night in the opening round of the MHSAA Class 2A State Playoffs, Stewart had one of his biggest nights of his season in the Bulldogs’ 70-53 victory.
Stewart powered his way to 25 points in the victory as he out-muscled the smaller Wildcat opponents inside the paint.
“Aaron always performs better in the big games,” Riverside coach Sam Monroe said.
Riverside’s victory Tuesday advances the Bulldogs on to the second round where they will travel to Ingomar. The matchup with Ingomar is currently set for Saturday; however, it may get switched to Friday based on the availability of referees.
Stewart was not the only Riverside Bulldog to shine on Tuesday. As Riverside opened its lead in the second half, a number of Bulldog players stepped up to the stage.
The Bulldogs began opening their lead in the second quarter as their full court press slowly wore down visiting Walnut. Freshman DJ Gaston got a steal and a bucket to put Riverside up 22-16 with three minutes left until halftime. An Aaron Stewart put-back then put the Bulldogs up by eight points, and a 3-pointer by Otis Williams with five seconds left in the half gave Riverside a 29-21 halftime lead.
“We knew they (Walnut) were a good team, but we stuck to the game plan, and we were able to take control of the game,” Coach Monroe said.
Walnut would claw back in the game in the third quarter and cut the lead to three points, 37-34, after Logan Wilbanks drained a 3-point shot. But, a drive in traffic by Bulldog BJ Amos expanded the Riverside lead to seven points, 41-34, with a minute left int the quarter and the Bulldogs would then expand their lead in the final period.
Fourth quarter highlights included a break away slam dunk by sophomore Jayden Moore and a late 3-pointer by Jaleel Moore that closed out the scoring.
