Riverside’s boys basketball team suffered a 76-39 loss to host Jackson Center on Saturday, but senior John Zumberger accomplished a career milestone by reaching the 1,000-point mark.
He needed 18 points entering Saturday’s game and finished with exactly 18.
The loss drops the Pirates to 7-15 on the season.
“We got off to a rough start,” said RHS head coach Seth Bodenmiller. “Jackson Center came out and hit us hard in the first quarter, but after that, I liked the way that we competed.
“It was great to see John finally get his 1,000th point. For the last four years, he has been one of the hardest working and most dedicated players that we’ve had. He missed a lot of his sophomore year due to injuries, so we knew it would come down to the wire here at the end of the year. As a team, I know that we are all proud that he was able to reach this milestone and that we could all help him get there.”
Jackson Center grabbed control early after a 28-7 run in the opening quarter. The Tigers added a 15-7 run in the second quarter to build a 43-14 halftime advantage.
In the third quarter, Jackson Center edged Riverside 18-12 to extend its lead to a 61-26 score.
Landon Stewart added eight points for the Pirates and Walker Whitaker chipped in four points.
The junior varsity game saw Jackson Center beat Riverside 54-35. Dominik Stotler led the Pirates with 11 points.
Riverside starts tournament play Friday against Ansonia in a Division IV sectional opener at Piqua.
JACKSON CENTER 76, RIVERSIDE 39
RIVERSIDE (7-15)
Zumberger 6 4-6 18; Stewart 4 0-0 8; Whitaker 2 0-2 4; Long 0 3-3 3; Rhoads 1 0-0 2; Burk 1 0-0 2; Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 7-11 39.
JACKSON CENTER
Platfoot 1 1-1 3; Fark 4 0-0 9; Regula 4 2-4 10; K. Reichert 0 1-2 1; Millenhour 6 0-0 14; West 0 1-2 1; Ross 2 0-2 4; A. Reichert 8 0-0 19; Sosby 1 0-0 2; Reese 4 0-1 9; Vetter 2 0-0 4. Totals: 32 5-12 76.
Pirates 7 7 12 13 — 39
Tigers 28 15 18 15 — 76
Three pointers: Riverside 2 (Zumberger 2); Jackson Center 7 (A. Reichert 3, Millenhour 2, Fark, Reese). Rebounds: Riverside 13 (Long 5); Jackson Center 23. Team fouls: Riverside 13; Jackson Center 11.