The EPIC Academy gymnasium was packed with River Islands High supporters on Friday when the Riptide boys and girls basketball programs hosted their first varsity basketball games.
Both won decisively in the doubleheader against Vanguard College Prep Academy.
In the boys game, 10 of 11 players scored in River Islands’ 72-45 blowout. Junior point guard Idrees ElFarra scored a game-high 22 points to go with six assists, five rebounds and five steals in just three quarters of play.
Brianna Lee helped lift the Riptide girls to a commanding 46-26 win with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. River Islands led 18-0 after the first quarter.
River Islands boys coach and athletic director Justin Graham was as excited about the turnout from the community as the inaugural varsity wins for both programs.
“It’s awesome. I think that’s one of the great things about our community and our school — they show up,” Graham said. “I remember last year at our very first football game they played at Lathrop, we filled the entire stands, so I’m not surprised that we had a good showing tonight and I am super appreciative of it.”
ElFarra credits the partisan crowd for helping the team overcome a sloppy start. The Lions from Modesto shot out to a 13-5 lead, taking advantage of River Islands’ turnovers and foul trouble.
The Riptide tidied up its possessions in the second quarter while pushing the pace for open looks on the perimeter and fastbreak opportunities. They poured in 13 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 28-18 lead and didn’t look back. River Islands knocked down 10 3-pointers in all.
“There were a lot more people than I expected, and that’s what I wanted,” ElFarra said. “I feel like that’s when you start adding to our culture as we’re growing. We want our fans to show out and come give us support.
“We had that rough stretch to start the game. We were all off, but the fans definitely helped us out with that. This is the first varsity game ever for this program, and this is going to be in our history forever, so this feels really good.”
Charles Mapanao keyed River Islands’ early spurt, scoring all of his 12 points in the first half. He ended the second quarter with flare, wrapping the ball around his back while evading a defender for a fastbreak layup.
Darius Radoc Factoran came alive in the second half when he scored all of his 11 points. Freshman forward Zachary Basurto added eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Xavier Lopez paced Vanguard with 18 point, and Bradley Mourer added 11 points and six rebounds.
While it took a quarter for the boys team to get going, River Islands’ girls wasted little time in getting untracked.
Lee drained a corner 3-pointer just 5 seconds into the game, and the Riptide was able to overwhelm Vanguard with its activity on both ends of the court.
“They had a really tough game on Wednesday, so we talked about the fundamentals on Thursday and they were ready to execute today,” River Islands coach Jessica Hutton said, referencing the team’s lopsided loss to reigning Trans-Valley League champion Escalon in a Foundation Game. Foundation Games do not count against records.
Vanguard ended its scoring drought with 6:39 left in the second quarter on Anelise Campos’ layup. The junior center accounted for the Lions’ first eight points but finished with nine. Kaylee Franco found her shooting touch late in the game and wound up leading Vanguard with 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Veronica Erilim provided an early spark for River Islands and finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Zariah Oliver also netted eight points to go with five rebounds off the bench. Simoné Cifuentes contributed five points, six steals and four assists.
“We don’t have any seniors on this team, but it’s cool to be on the varsity level and grow as a team,” Lee said. “We have some things to fix, but overall we did pretty good tonight.”
The twinbill turned out to be a family event for Graham, who so happens to be Sutton’s older brother. Their father, Steve, was in attendance, as were Graham’s wife and two kids.
“It was a cool moment,” coach Graham said. “I’m really happy for her to get her first win. She’s a little nervous about coaching basketball because it’s a different role for her, and now she’s our varsity head coach. I’m really proud of her and the work that she’s doing with her program.”
