Rumble on the River: Richwood vs. Washington-Marion

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richwood rebounded Saturday from back-to-back losses to finish its three-day Baton Rouge trip on a positive note.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='970130' first='Courtney' last='McCarthy'] led the Rams to an aggressive start and pull-away second quarter to cruise to a 58-50 defeat of Washington-Marion despite the Chargin' Indians' late push with the game out of reach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The victory improved coach Terry Martin's team to 13-4 on the season amid challenging south-Louisiana tournament slates loaded with tough, primarily Class 5A opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We can be great," McCarthy said. "We've got a chance to go all the way and win it."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/6N7WxyjSk_o","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"embed-handler","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/embed/6N7WxyjSk_o </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970130' first='Courtney' last='McCarthy'] (6'5" | 2023)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The silky-smooth shooting guard followed up a sharp-shooting 28-point Friday night with a 27-point Saturday afternoon on which more of his scoring punch came attacking the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"The coaches wanted me to start off aggressive," he said. "We're already on the road, so our shots won't be falling since we're not used to these goals. So we wanted to get to the goal before doing anything else."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McCarthy drove into the lane on several of the game's first possessions to come away with three makes and a pair of free throws before beginning to show off his quick release off the dribble, including a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He was active and vocal with and without the ball to help direct his teammates through press-break situations and half-court plays, as well as on defense, and repeatedly read Washington-Marion passes to swipe a handful of steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I've got to be a leader, got to be the leader of my team, got to be coachable," he said. "And they've got to be coachable and listen to what I'm saying."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Karder Mason (6'7" | 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ten other Richwood players scored, but none more than six points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore forward Karder Mason, who scored two before fouling out, was among a few active big bodies around the goal and on the boards that will be important for the Rams' upcoming district and postseason stretches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elijah Netty (6'3" | 2023)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior forward Elijah Netty, also an all-district wide receiver for Washington-Marion, led his team with 14 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The springy athlete used his body well through physical play in the lane, whether absorbing contact and still getting good shots off or helping shield and secure contested rebounds, as well as a good shooting stroke with four free throws and a late 3-pointer as the Chargin' Indians trimmed their deficit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->