Basketball Recap: Patriot Comes Up Short

Patriot was the 61-51 winner over Riverside when they last played one another back in December of 2021, but their luck changed this time around. The Patriot Pioneers fell 66-56 to the Riverside Ram on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 56th, while the Ram are ranked seventh).

When it comes to explaining why Patriot lost, don't look at Sean Madrigal. Despite the final result, he went 7 for 9 on his way to 17 points and three steals. Elijah Gaskins was another key player, putting up ten points.

Pioneers

Assists

12/09/23 vs Stone Bridge	20
12/08/23 vs Gainesville	19
12/19/23 vs South Lakes	17
12/15/23 vs Freedom	14
12/12/23 @ Osbourn	14

Even though they lost, Patriot was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Joell Basue continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Riverside, dropping a double-double on 20 points and ten boards. Basue is crushing it when it comes to points: he's scored at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Ridgeway, who posted 12 points and seven rebounds.

Patriot's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Riverside, the win keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.

Patriot wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 76-62 loss against South Lakes on the 19th. As for Riverside, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 73-66 victory against Broad Run on the 20th.