Horton 72, Riverside 62

The Horton Chargers continued their best boys basketball season (most wins) since 1998 improving to 15-6 with a home win against Riverside in the opening round of their 3A Sub-State.  Horton only trailed once, by a point, in the first quarter, but a 30-23 halftime advantage  was cut to 41-38 entering the fourth quarter.  Horton made 14 of their 23 free throws in the final eight-minutes to put Riverside away for the second time in two weeks. 

Playing a third game without starting guard, Derrick Stone, sophomore Chandler Knudson stepped up with a trio of three-pointers on way to his career-high 18 point night.  Knudson earned "Player to Bank On" honors from the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha and hit six foul shots in the last frame to help seal the win.  Horton made 7 baskets behind the arc and had 5 players post at least 8 points.  Josh Allen had 8, Jordan Matthais 10, Dakota Bayles 13 and Trey Dishon led the way with 22. 

Riverside ended the season with a 6-15 record and losses in 7 of their final 8 games with Pheonix Keller having a big night with 19 points, 9 of which came in the opening stanza.  Andrae McGaughy added 13 and Alex Davidson had 10, but they were two of four players to foul-out for the Cyclones, who made just 16 of 31 free throws and had 15 turnovers in defeat. 

Horton will play #2 seed, Nemaha Valley in the 7:30 semifinal at Horton on Thursday night with live coverage on KNZA 103.9 FM.  Nemaha Valley beat Marysville 52-47 on Monday and also topped Horton on January 31st, 54-45.  Sabetha (67-17 winner vs. ACCHS) will play Maur Hill/Mount Academy (61-52 comeback winner vs. Hiawatha) in the 6:00 PM boys game Thursday at Horton High School.