Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- T.J. Warren put on a show Thursday night, and all Southern could do was watch.
The sophomore scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as top-seeded Riverside cruised to an easy 79-57 victory over the No. 5 Spartans, ending Southern's season.
The Pirates (22-2) started strong, using a 7-0 first-quarter run to take a 21-10 lead. They took control playing suffocating defense, forcing turnovers and getting out in transition.
"We played pretty decent defense and rebounded," Riverside coach Tim Ross said. "We really played well together and were unselfish. We played Riverside basketball."
But the Spartans (10-16) were able to answer. Southern scored the last three points of the first quarter and started the second with five straight, slicing the lead to 21-18.
That was as close as they would get.
Warren took over from there, scoring six points during a 14-2 run, capping it off with a double-clutch dunk that brought most of the spectators out of their seats.
"That's what T.J. can do," said Ross of the 6-6 swingman, who also collected 12 rebounds. "A sophomore playing like that is huge. He got to the rack pretty well and was a big lift."
Leading 41-28 at the half, the Pirates shot down any hopes of a Spartans come back, using an 10-2 third-quarter run to go up 59-39 and put the game out of reach.
Jerod Belvin added 16 points for Riverside, while Geoffrey Hunter paced Southern with 22.
Up next for Riverside is a date with East Chapel Hill, a 59-40 winner over Jordan.
"We have to rebound and play defense," Ross said. "We are looking forward to playing for the tournament championship and the guys are really excited."
The season may be over for the Spartans, but Coach Art Richmond is optimistic about the future.
"I've got nine players coming back next season," Richmond said. "We've got a lot of young players and it will be good to watch them grow next season."
Riverside 79, Southern 57
SOUTHERN -- Geoffrey Hunter 22, Evan Collins 14, Prince Gray 7, Julian Saunders 6, David Jordan 5, Jordan Riley 3
RIVERSIDE -- T.J. Warren 28, Jerod Belvin 16, Tevin Richardson 9, Sean Deniton 7, David Mayer 6, Nick Collins 4, Xavier Webb 4, Tim Raven 2, Jeff Cleary 2, Darius Burton 1
Southern 13 15 13 16--57
Riverside 21 20 18 20--79
3-point goals--Riverside 2 (Belvin 2), Southern 5 (Hunter 4, Collins). Rebounds--Riverside 40 (Warren 12), Southern 33 (Jordan 8). Assists--Riverside 17 (Deniton 7), Southern 8 (Alan Lea 4). Free throws--Riverside 19-29, Southern 10-19.
Records--Riverside 22-2, Southern 10-16.
