Gilmour jumped out to an 9-0 lead at Riverside on Dec. 19 and kept building on it by pressuring the Beavers into turnovers, moving the ball efficiently on offense and knocking down outside shots to lead from wire to wire in an 89-74 victory. The Lancers improved to 4-0 as their hot start to the seas on continued. Junior Brayden Titas fired in a game-high 31 points for Gilmour, which included 7-of-10 shooting outside the arc. Gilmour’s all-junior starting lineup all finished in double figures. Brody Durham, a transfer from Crestwood, had 14, Aidan Anders and Caleb Henderson each scored 12, and Mikey Holt chipped in 10 to go with five assists and four steals. “We broke the pressure really well,” Titas said. “We were so in tune to the game plan. Coach always draws up a great game plan. My teammates are great at creating shots for others, and I was knocking down shots today, which was great.” Titas had two of his triples in the opening spurt, and Anders added one as Gilmour overwhelmed Riverside in the opening minutes. The Beavers battled back to within 13-9 later in the frame and were within 19-13 at the end of it. But Gilmour kept up the pressure on defense, forcing 11 first-half turnovers, moved the ball efficiently on offense, leading to buckets in the paint, and Titas and Durham combined to sink eight 3s in the first half, and the Lancers took a 44-28 lead into halftime. “We really wanted to A, push tempo, and B, pressure them,” Gilmour coach Dan DeCrane said of the game plan. “Our starting five is talented. They play well together. I thought we could wear them down as the game went on.” The Lancers’ ability to play well together may have been best illustrated by their 24 assists, led by Holt and Anders, who also contributed five helpers. Gilmour kept up the pressure and tempo in the second half, with its leading reaching an apex of 71-45 to start the fourth quarter. Riverside scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to make it a little closer. The Lancers shot 59% from the field (36 of 61) and 50% on 3s (11 of 22).  Gilmour forced 19 turnovers, and Anders pulled down seven rebounds. “Mikey Holt had some really good passes,” DeCrane said. “When we got to the second level of their defense, I thought we did a great job of kicking out for an open 3 or dumping down for a layup. “We have some really talented passers. I think it’s the hardest skill in basketball. We have three guys that can really share it, and they did a great job tonight.” Riverside fell to 3-3, continuing a win-one, lose-one pattern in its season so far. Senior Drew Brown scored 17 points to lead three Beavers in double figures, joined by senior Kyle Harden (15) and junior David Siebert (12). “Our first two possessions, I think we only made one pass,” said Riverside coach and alum Matt Cardina, who was the head coach of Fairport for eight seasons before assisting Matt Grendel at Riverside for the last five. “Then I think we gave up three offensive rebounds on our first two defensive possessions. That’s a tough way to start the game. “We felt that the whole first half we did not move the ball very well as a team, and that played right into Gilmour’s hands.” On a positive note, Riverside outrebounded Gilmour, 22-20, and shot 58% from the field (30 of 52). The Beavers showed some promise for spurts of the game, particularly in the fourth quarter. “We thought we picked up the pace on defense and played with a better effort than (in the first half), getting more loose balls and rebounds,” Cardina said. “We have to find a way to tap into the “madman” type of effort from the first minute of the game.” Gilmour will host Olmsted Falls on Dec. 21, and Riverside will travel to Geneva on Dec. 22. THE SCORE Gilmour 89, Riverside 74 ...read more read less