MADISON — Outplayed for much of the second half, Riverside found a way to defeat the Wolfpack in overtime to claim the championship of the Madison Holiday Tournament.
The Chargers capitalized on turnovers early in the overtime period to take a lead and go on to win 57 to 50.
“We’ve got to take care of the basketball,” Wolfpack Coach Matt Euse said about the loss. “We’re averaging over 20 turnovers (a game) right now … when you play against good teams like this, you’re not gonna win those games.”
Charger Klayton Kleffner scored the first five points of overtime to give Riverside a 50 to 45 lead. The lead grew to eight points with just over one minute left to play in overtime.
Then, with 52 seconds left to play, freshman Jarek Erickson buried a trey to give EPPJ hope, cutting the lead to 53 to 48.
Forced to foul, Riverside made four of eight free throws.
EPPJ managed just two points the rest of the way as junior Myles Kittelson sank back-to-back free throws.
“I was very happy with our effort … The guys want to win and play hard for each other,” Coach Euse said. To read the complete story turn to this week’s Elgin Review.
