Riverside captured the big WIN at the Holiday Classic for the FIRST time in 25 years. Noah Valencia scored 21 points with 7 rebounds and 5 assists to lead CSDR to a 45-36 victory over Upland Christian.

CSD-Riverside Boys Basketball (4-4) suffered a loss against Mesa Grande and faced a formidable opponent in Upland Christian (4-1). CSDR pulled ahead early on the strength of a 12-3 run, eventually claiming a 28-22 lead by halftime.

Ermias Thomas hit two three-pointers and scored six points total. Also, helping the efforts for CSDR were Mavrick Fisher (7 points, 8 rebounds), Christian Jacobs (5 points, 4 rebounds), Alan Alcocer (7 rebounds, 1 steal) and Desean Welch (9 rebounds).

Upland Christian won two games last year, both by leads of 12 and 14. The last time Riverside played against Upland Christian and won was a league game on December 20, 2012.

“It was really nice to regroup after our loss to Mesa Grande. We played great on defense tonight, as we (players and coaches) just wanted to win tonight as a TEAM. It feels great to win on this court, just like my old days,” stated Coach Valencia

Riverside will host their first home game on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 6:00 p.m. against league opponent and longtime rival Hamilton.