Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Raiders have a really bad night
The Raiders had a very frustratingly bad night last night. The Raiders came across Milton who is playing very well lately, and the Raiders had a poor night shooting and a poor night playing defense. The Raiders were down three at the end of the 1st, 12 at the end of the half, and 30 by the end of the 3rd. In the Fourth quarter, the Raiders were mercy ruled, which means we only played a 6 minute quarter as opposed to an 8 minute quarter. The Raiders will try to rebound on Friday against Roswell who put a hurting on the Raiders two weeks ago. There are three games left in the season before the Region tournament. The Raiders will ahve to pick it up if they want to compete in the tournament.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Raiders play tough, lose big in the end
The Raiders played the Centennial Knights again on Friday night. The Knights being one of the best teams in the region, the Raiders knew they had a tough night ahead of them. With Friday night also being Senior Night, the Raiders had some emotion to play with. The Raiders came out fired up and ready to play. The Knights were not going to get anything easy. The Raiders played the tough defense they have been known for all season long. The shots were not falling for the Raiders which made it tough to score, considering we were out sized and out athleted on the boards. Centennial relys mainly on their athleticism to get points, but the Raiders worked their butts off trying not to give up anything. By the end of the half, the Radiers were down only 10 points.
In the second half, the Raiders once again came out fired up, but with Knights jumping around and putting pressure on the Raiders, the Knights slowly stretched their lead. By the end of the third, the Raiders were down 15. Fatigue from the fight finally wore the Raiders out and the Knights contiued to put pressure and ran their lead up to 30 points. The Raiders finally lost 82-53 ruining the Raider's Senior Night. The Raiders play three times this week, with games against Milton, Roswell and Lassiter. The Raiders have a chance to win three of their last four, and hopefully improve their standing in the region, which would help them with their path to the State Playoffs.
In the second half, the Raiders once again came out fired up, but with Knights jumping around and putting pressure on the Raiders, the Knights slowly stretched their lead. By the end of the third, the Raiders were down 15. Fatigue from the fight finally wore the Raiders out and the Knights contiued to put pressure and ran their lead up to 30 points. The Raiders finally lost 82-53 ruining the Raider's Senior Night. The Raiders play three times this week, with games against Milton, Roswell and Lassiter. The Raiders have a chance to win three of their last four, and hopefully improve their standing in the region, which would help them with their path to the State Playoffs.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Raiders take on #2 team in sub-region
On Tuesday night, the Raiders took on the Northview Titans again, at Alpharetta. The last time these two teams met, the Titans crushed the Raiders by 27 points. That was then, Tuesday night was different. Coming off the win over North Fulton foe, Chattahoochee on Friday night, the Raiders had some confidence that anything is possible. The Titans have a 6'11" center named Ralph. The Raiders game plan was to see if Ralph could beat them all by himself. The Raiders came out playing great defense, keeping the Titans with in reach. The lead was never more than 6 points. In the first quarter, the Raiders tried man to man defense, but 6'11" is tought to match up against. The Raiders switched to a zone defense. The zone proved to baffle the Titans offense and made it difficult for the Titans to get the ball inside. Ralph still had several dunks, but the Titans took some bad shots and the Raiders controlled the defensive boards. By halftime, the Raiders were only down four points to the Titans, 25 -21.
In the second half, the Raiders who have been plagued by slow starts in the third quarter, came out hot and ready to play. The Titans, who played a zone of their own, were getting beaten inside by the undersized Raiders. The Raiders played without fear and as the quarter wore on, began to build confidence that they could win the game. In the fourth quarter, the Radiers continued to run up and down the floor on the Titans. The Raiders also began to shoot the ball well. The Raiders were helped by some clutch three point shooting, and with 1:57 left, the Raiders led 42-41. In the last 2 minutes the Raiders were outscored 9-0 and lost the game as the Titans knocked down their free throws to seal the win. The Raiders were upset that they let such a big win get through their fingers, but are confident that they are playing well as the Region tournament approaches. The Raiders have 5 games left, 4 of them are definately winable(yes Clare that is a word). If the Raiders can win 4 of their last five, they can move up to 3rd in their sub region, giving them a good path towards the state playoffs. The Raiders take the court on Friday night against the top team in the sub-region, Centennial. It is also senior night, so emotions will be high.
In the second half, the Raiders who have been plagued by slow starts in the third quarter, came out hot and ready to play. The Titans, who played a zone of their own, were getting beaten inside by the undersized Raiders. The Raiders played without fear and as the quarter wore on, began to build confidence that they could win the game. In the fourth quarter, the Radiers continued to run up and down the floor on the Titans. The Raiders also began to shoot the ball well. The Raiders were helped by some clutch three point shooting, and with 1:57 left, the Raiders led 42-41. In the last 2 minutes the Raiders were outscored 9-0 and lost the game as the Titans knocked down their free throws to seal the win. The Raiders were upset that they let such a big win get through their fingers, but are confident that they are playing well as the Region tournament approaches. The Raiders have 5 games left, 4 of them are definately winable(yes Clare that is a word). If the Raiders can win 4 of their last five, they can move up to 3rd in their sub region, giving them a good path towards the state playoffs. The Raiders take the court on Friday night against the top team in the sub-region, Centennial. It is also senior night, so emotions will be high.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Raiders make up for earlier loss
The Raiders hit the court Friday night, traveling to Chattahoochee High School. Chattahoochee had earlier beaten the Raiders back in December, 47-43. The Raiders knew they had let one get away back in December and were ready to let the Cougars know it.
The Raiders came out firing, but not hitting right away. The Raiders went down early. But the Raider defense fought back to bring the game to a two point deficit by the end of the first quarter, 13-11. In the second quarter the Raider defense picked up even further only allowing 4 points for the Cougars while scoring 12. The Raiders went in to halftime leading 23 -17. Interestingly, that was the half time score the last time we played the Cougars. The Raiders were given a challenge in the beginning of the third, dominate the first 4 possessions. The Raiders came out and scored on their first three possessions while only giving up one score for the Cougars first four possessions, for a 10 point Raiders' lead. The Raiders kept that lead most of the way in the third, but allowed a short run by the Cougars to end the third quarter bringing the lead to 6, 41- 35. In the fourth the Raiders played with confidence, all the while shutting down the Cougars outside shooters and controlling the defensive boards. As time wound down the experience of having seniors on the court took over as the Raiders were able to run more than one minute off the clock as Chattahoochee tried to foul, in the end, the Raiders got an uncontested lay up to help seal the win. The Raiders ran away from the Cougars to a 53- 46 win. The Raiders celebrated their 6th win of the season and their 3rd in the Region, tripling last year's region total. The Raiders have a tough week coming up where both Northview and Centennial come to the Raider's Cove. Both of these schools stand at the top of the sub-region and both beat the Raiders by 20 points. It will be a tough week. Hopefully the cold weather can help the Raiders shut down these two high scoring opponents.
The Raiders came out firing, but not hitting right away. The Raiders went down early. But the Raider defense fought back to bring the game to a two point deficit by the end of the first quarter, 13-11. In the second quarter the Raider defense picked up even further only allowing 4 points for the Cougars while scoring 12. The Raiders went in to halftime leading 23 -17. Interestingly, that was the half time score the last time we played the Cougars. The Raiders were given a challenge in the beginning of the third, dominate the first 4 possessions. The Raiders came out and scored on their first three possessions while only giving up one score for the Cougars first four possessions, for a 10 point Raiders' lead. The Raiders kept that lead most of the way in the third, but allowed a short run by the Cougars to end the third quarter bringing the lead to 6, 41- 35. In the fourth the Raiders played with confidence, all the while shutting down the Cougars outside shooters and controlling the defensive boards. As time wound down the experience of having seniors on the court took over as the Raiders were able to run more than one minute off the clock as Chattahoochee tried to foul, in the end, the Raiders got an uncontested lay up to help seal the win. The Raiders ran away from the Cougars to a 53- 46 win. The Raiders celebrated their 6th win of the season and their 3rd in the Region, tripling last year's region total. The Raiders have a tough week coming up where both Northview and Centennial come to the Raider's Cove. Both of these schools stand at the top of the sub-region and both beat the Raiders by 20 points. It will be a tough week. Hopefully the cold weather can help the Raiders shut down these two high scoring opponents.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Raiders have big let down
The Raiders experienced a big let down two nights in a row. On Tuesday night, the Raiders took on North Fulton foe, Roswell High School. The Hornets sported the worst record in the region coming into Tuesday night. The Raiders failed to capitalize on the momentum gained on Saturday when they beat one of the better teams in Walton High. The Raiders were beaten on the the boards as Roswell grabbed more offensive rebounds than any other team had against the Raiders. The lack of boxing out lead to a 12 point loss to the Hornents, 68-56. The Raiders returned to practice the next night with the promise of snow in the Alpharetta area. The Raiders were not disappointed as it started to snow before practice began. By the end, about 7pm it was snowing pretty well and the Raiders celebrated believing that school would be canceled. Yet the Raiders were disappointed yet again when the snow turned to rain and the roads did not freeze, and the Raiders had to come to school today. The Raiders take the court again Friday night against Chattahoochee, whom we owe for a heartbreaking loss back in December. Hopefully we will rebound from Tuesday nights disappointing play.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Good Weekend for the Raiders
The Raiders played two games this weekend. On Friday, the Raiders took on the Milton Eagles. This was a big game for two reasons, one the Eagles are a cross town rival. Some of our players would have gone to Milton and two it was Teacher Appreciation Night, so many of the players' teachers were in attendance to watch the Raiders play. This was a game I thought the Raiders could win. The Eagles have a Freshman who stands 6'7" tall and has a great touch around the basket. This showed in the first half, as this player did not miss a shot on his way to 12 first half points. On Thursday, the Riaders received a detailed scouting report of the Eagles to give them some confidence against the size of the Eagles. It looks like this scouting report only gave the Raiders too much to think about. The Raiders came out flat against the Eagles and allowed a 7 nothing run to end the first half and give the Eagles a 41 -26 lead at half time. In the second half, the Raiders came out to play. The big guy for the Eagles only scored 2 points in the second half, but the Eagles got some clutch shooting form some of their other players. The Raiders cut the lead to 6 with less than 2 minutes left in the game but could not close closer than that. The Raiders wound up losing 69-59. It was a disappointing loss for the Raiders but we had no time to "cry in our beer" so to speak, we had to play the next day.
On Saturday, the Raiders played their namesake in the Walton Raiders, confusing the cheerleaders to no end. Walton has two players whose father played in the NBA. These players are pretty good and AHS has had trouble stopping good players. This night I told the players to just go out and play good hard, Raider basketball. AHS came out ready to play. In a effort to switch things up on Walton, we played a zone to start with, this was not a great idea. Walton has a player who can shoot lights out and this player knocked down 3 3pointers in a row to give Walton a 9-1 lead. AHS switched back to man to man defense and started to deny this shooter the ball. AHS fought back to a 9 - 9 tie. The game went back and forth, remaining tied at the end of the first quarter and tied at 27 to end the half.
AHS came out with the same intensity, but the 3rd quarter bug bit us again. In the third we kept up the intesity on defense but the offense failed us a little. By the end of the 3rd, we were down by 3 points. The fourth quarter we came out fired up. We were in this game and we were not supposed to be in it. AHS took control of the game. Walton had its best player in foul trouble, so with him on the bench, AHS ran out to a 5 point lead. We continued to play tough half court defense, and control the tempo of the game. With Walton's best shooter not able to catch the ball, he could not shoot the ball, thus Walton had a problem coming back. Walton tried to put pressure on AHS, but we took those opportunities to run out and get easy baskets. Walton tried to rely on their best player to bring them back, but our best defender shut him down. In the end the Raiders came out with their biggest win in their short history, 61-53. The Raiders take the court on Tuesday against another North Fulton foe, Roswell High comes to the Raiders Cove. The Raiders will be ready to squash the Hornets for a two game winning streak.
On Saturday, the Raiders played their namesake in the Walton Raiders, confusing the cheerleaders to no end. Walton has two players whose father played in the NBA. These players are pretty good and AHS has had trouble stopping good players. This night I told the players to just go out and play good hard, Raider basketball. AHS came out ready to play. In a effort to switch things up on Walton, we played a zone to start with, this was not a great idea. Walton has a player who can shoot lights out and this player knocked down 3 3pointers in a row to give Walton a 9-1 lead. AHS switched back to man to man defense and started to deny this shooter the ball. AHS fought back to a 9 - 9 tie. The game went back and forth, remaining tied at the end of the first quarter and tied at 27 to end the half.
AHS came out with the same intensity, but the 3rd quarter bug bit us again. In the third we kept up the intesity on defense but the offense failed us a little. By the end of the 3rd, we were down by 3 points. The fourth quarter we came out fired up. We were in this game and we were not supposed to be in it. AHS took control of the game. Walton had its best player in foul trouble, so with him on the bench, AHS ran out to a 5 point lead. We continued to play tough half court defense, and control the tempo of the game. With Walton's best shooter not able to catch the ball, he could not shoot the ball, thus Walton had a problem coming back. Walton tried to put pressure on AHS, but we took those opportunities to run out and get easy baskets. Walton tried to rely on their best player to bring them back, but our best defender shut him down. In the end the Raiders came out with their biggest win in their short history, 61-53. The Raiders take the court on Tuesday against another North Fulton foe, Roswell High comes to the Raiders Cove. The Raiders will be ready to squash the Hornets for a two game winning streak.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Raiders throw a scare at Centennial
The Raiders went into the tuesday nights game expecting a tough outing. Wha tthey did not expect was to be disappointd that they los to the #6 team in the state.
The Raiders traveled to Centennial's gym on Tuesday night, ready to play. The thought was that Centennial was not ready to play the Raiders, considering the Raiders lost by 40 there last year. The thought looked to be true in the first few minutes of the game. The Raiders took the lead early and held on for most of the first half, before falling behind.
The first quarter moved at the Raiders pace instead of the very talented, and very athletic Knights team. The Raiders took a 10 to 4 lead at one point and held on for a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the Second, the Raiders continued to control the tempo, and held on the lead for the first 4 minutes. The Knights pressure and athleticism began to catch up with the Raiders and they took the lead and led at halftime 39-32.
In the second half, the Knights talent took control. The sprinted out to a 20 point lead by the end of the third. The Raiders played their hearts out, but finally lost to a very talented team, 81-61. the Raiders take the court on Friday against Milton, another North Fulton rival.
The Raiders traveled to Centennial's gym on Tuesday night, ready to play. The thought was that Centennial was not ready to play the Raiders, considering the Raiders lost by 40 there last year. The thought looked to be true in the first few minutes of the game. The Raiders took the lead early and held on for most of the first half, before falling behind.
The first quarter moved at the Raiders pace instead of the very talented, and very athletic Knights team. The Raiders took a 10 to 4 lead at one point and held on for a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the Second, the Raiders continued to control the tempo, and held on the lead for the first 4 minutes. The Knights pressure and athleticism began to catch up with the Raiders and they took the lead and led at halftime 39-32.
In the second half, the Knights talent took control. The sprinted out to a 20 point lead by the end of the third. The Raiders played their hearts out, but finally lost to a very talented team, 81-61. the Raiders take the court on Friday against Milton, another North Fulton rival.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Four Games in two weeks
The Alpharetta High School went on Christmas break on Dec. 19th, but that does not mean that Raider Basketball was on break. On Dec. 26th, the Raiders traveled to Disney World in Orlando, FL, to play in the KSA Holiday Classsic Tournament. Also on that day, the Raiders played their first game in that tournament. After an 8 hours drive the Raiders had one hour to put their stuff down, change into their uniforms and play Egg Harbor Township High School from New Jersey. The game started at 8pm at night. The Raiders came out hot and fired up, streaking out to an 13 -2 lead. The Raiders kept up the pressure in the first half, and extended the lead to 20 points. But the ride down from Atlanta started to catch up with the Raiders as the allowed Egg Harbor to work back to 15 point defecit at half time. In the second half Egg Harbor came out fired up and the Raiders came out flat. The Raiders allowed Egg Harbor back in the game and only had a 5 point lead going into the 4th quarter. The Raiders were not able to hold off Egg Harbor and by the end of regulation, the game was tied. The first overtime started out well for the Raiders, but by the end of the 4 minutes, we were still tied. The Raiders finally lost the game after the third overtime. The final score was 83-77. Luckily we had the next day off.
In the second game of the tournment, the Raiders played Leon High School from Tallahassee, FL. The Raiders were still a little bruised from losing in three overtimes two days before and were none to happy about playing at 8:30 in the morning. Leon High took the full brunt of the Raider emotion. The Raiders lead by 16 at half time and extended the lead to more than 20 in the second half. The Raiders wound up winning 83 -69, for the Raiders 4th win of the year. The Raiders celebrated by spending the rest of the day in the Magic Kingdom. Also, important was the fact that my Parents got to see me coach my first game as a High School head coach, and it was a win.
The next day, the Raiders took on the Eagles of Casa Roble High School from Casa Roble, CA. This team lost to Egg Harbor by 24 points, and the Raiders came in confident that we could win. The Raiders may have over estimated Casa Roble, and we had a fight on our hands. The lead for either team was never more that 5 points. The lead switched many times during the course of the game. In the end, the Raiders lost by 4, 55-51. The Raiders played hard and had fun in the KSA Tournament, coming in 3rd in their bracket. The Raiders did get to see an Orlando Magic game while we were down in Florida.
The Raiders returned to Alpharetta for the new year. The first game back, last Saturday, was against Forest Park High School, who we had lost to back in early December. The Raiders felt they owed one to the Panthers, because the feeling was the Raiders should have won this game. On Saturday, in front of a home crowd, the Raiders were up for the task. The game was not easy, with the lead going back and forth, once again the lead was no more than 10 at any one point. The Raiders had a balanced attack with 6 players scoring in double figures. The Raiders futured looked good because two sophomores on the varsity team lead the team to the win. The Raiders avenged the earlier loss with a 55 - 47 win. The Raiders start a very tough region schedule Tuesday against last year's State Runner up, Centennial High School. The Raiders follow that up with Milton High School on Friday. The games come fast and furious now in the last month of the season. Nothing will be easy the rest of the season.
In the second game of the tournment, the Raiders played Leon High School from Tallahassee, FL. The Raiders were still a little bruised from losing in three overtimes two days before and were none to happy about playing at 8:30 in the morning. Leon High took the full brunt of the Raider emotion. The Raiders lead by 16 at half time and extended the lead to more than 20 in the second half. The Raiders wound up winning 83 -69, for the Raiders 4th win of the year. The Raiders celebrated by spending the rest of the day in the Magic Kingdom. Also, important was the fact that my Parents got to see me coach my first game as a High School head coach, and it was a win.
The next day, the Raiders took on the Eagles of Casa Roble High School from Casa Roble, CA. This team lost to Egg Harbor by 24 points, and the Raiders came in confident that we could win. The Raiders may have over estimated Casa Roble, and we had a fight on our hands. The lead for either team was never more that 5 points. The lead switched many times during the course of the game. In the end, the Raiders lost by 4, 55-51. The Raiders played hard and had fun in the KSA Tournament, coming in 3rd in their bracket. The Raiders did get to see an Orlando Magic game while we were down in Florida.
The Raiders returned to Alpharetta for the new year. The first game back, last Saturday, was against Forest Park High School, who we had lost to back in early December. The Raiders felt they owed one to the Panthers, because the feeling was the Raiders should have won this game. On Saturday, in front of a home crowd, the Raiders were up for the task. The game was not easy, with the lead going back and forth, once again the lead was no more than 10 at any one point. The Raiders had a balanced attack with 6 players scoring in double figures. The Raiders futured looked good because two sophomores on the varsity team lead the team to the win. The Raiders avenged the earlier loss with a 55 - 47 win. The Raiders start a very tough region schedule Tuesday against last year's State Runner up, Centennial High School. The Raiders follow that up with Milton High School on Friday. The games come fast and furious now in the last month of the season. Nothing will be easy the rest of the season.
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