DIVISION V BOYS : Brethren Stops Riverdale, Rolls to 56-22 Victory

After two narrow victories in the Southern Section basketball championships, Brethren Christian Coach Richard Thomas told his players he wanted a little more breathing room Tuesday night.

So the top-seeded Warriors beat Riverdale by 34 in the first round of the Southern California Division V boys’ regional playoffs.

Think they took Thomas seriously?

Brethren Christian held Riverdale to nine points--repeat nine points --over the final three quarters of a 56-22 victory at Cypress College.

The Warriors (24-7) extended their winning streak to 19 games and advanced to Thursday night’s semifinals, where they will play host to Fontana Ambassador Christian, a 73-55 winner over Reedley Immanuel.

Riverdale was no match for Brethren:

* The Cowboys were scoreless for a 12-minute 51-second span in the second and third quarters.

* They scored three points in the second quarter, two in the third and four in the fourth, and made only four of 34 shots during that span.

Brethren’s blowout came on the heels of a 44-43 victory over Palos Verdes Chadwick in the section V-AA championship game and a 40-37 victory over Brentwood in the semifinals.

“It was nice to have a breather,” Thomas said. “It was nice to sit back and relax.”

The Cowboys hit town after a five-hour bus trip from Riverdale, located just south of Fresno. They were greeted by a tenacious man-to-man Brethren defense that forced several bad shots, some that came nowhere near the rim.

Riverdale (13-14) stayed close early, trailing, 16-13, at the end of the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime.

But Brethren’s Reggie Davis scored six of his eight points in a 12-0 run in the third quarter that broke the game open.

“We played a little cat and mouse with them in the first quarter,” Thomas said. “In the second half, we came out and showed what defense was all about.”

Brethren has played well defensively all season, holding opponents to an average of 50 points a game.

“We set a goal at the beginning of each game to hold our opponent to no more than 10 points a quarter,” Thomas said. “We didn’t get it in the first quarter, but we did in the last three.”

Andy Brown scored 11 of his game-high 13 points in the first half and Scott Thomas added 12 for Brethren. Efrain Solorio led Riverdale with nine points, seven below his season average.

The performance more than pleased the Brethren coach, who feared his team could come out flat after an emotional victory in the section finals last Friday night.

“I think an emotional weekend caught up with us (Monday night) at practice,” he said. “But when the chips were down in the second half, we came out and played.”