Raiders lose in first round

The Raiders ended their season on Saturday night at home losing to the Pope Greyhounds, whom they had lost to four days before. The Raiders tried to employ a zone defense against the Greyhounds to prevent their post game from dominating the game as it had on Tuesday. The zone definately kept the big man out of it, only allowing 3 points in the paint. The problem was the off guard came up big with 14 of Pope's 23 points in the first half. The Raiders went into half time down one point 23-22. In the second half, the Raiders came out hot. They attacked the Greyhounds man defense and started to find wide open lay ups. The problem was the Raiders could not cover all of the shooters the Greyhounds had, and wound up going down by 5 by the end of the third quarter,42-37. The 4th was more of the same. The Raiders playing well offensively, but not being able to find the wide open shooter. As the end neared, the Raiders tried to foul to keep the game close, but just like on Tuesday, the Greyhounds hit their free throws, and walked a way with a ten point win, 60-50. The Raiders seaon ended with a 7-19 record. One win shy of last year, but the Raiders did some things this that they had not done in previous years. Such as, win three games in January, the month when most of the region schedule is played; be seeded fourth in the subregion, the Raiders have been the bottom seed every year, and because of the 4th seed the Raiders hosted a playoff game. All in all, the Seniors who have played for four years, have built a foundation for which the program can take off and be successful. The younger players on the team have good talent and have learned how to play hard night in and night out. I hope you have enjoyed the blog this season. I will give updates in the off season so keep checking back. Thank you for reading.

Raiders end regular season on down note

The good play of the Raiders continued some what on tuesday night. The Raiders had another Tuesday let down against Pope High School. The Raiders played very well in the first half, but seemed to fade in the second as Pope got stronger. The Raiders lead at halftime 33-29, but allowed the Greyhounds a 10- 0 run to start the 2nd half. The Raiders fought hard hard but wound up falling short and lost 58- 46. The Greyhounds hit 16 of 18 free throws in the game to seal the win. The Raiders will start the Region Playoffs at home versus...Pope High School. The Raiders will get a chance at revenge for their first tournament win ever. The Raiders are looking to put a positive end to a good season. The Raiders will take on Pope on Saturday at 7pm.

Raiders have a good but heartbreaking weekend

The Raiders went into the final weekend of the regular season looking to bounce back from their tuesday night loss. The Raiders went to Roswell on Friday, being the opponent for the second game on Senior Night. The Raiders were ready to play as a team this night. The Raiders ran out to a 20-12 lead in the first quarter. Ten players played in the first half, to keep the legs fresh and ready to finish the game. The Raiders entered the Half time up by 10 points. In the Second half the Hornents came out in a 1-3-1 zone. The Raiders showed some patience and some Senior experience by slowing down the game and making the Hornets come out after them. As the Raiders drew the Hornets out, the pasing lanes opened up. The Raiders showed great maturity and tore the zone apart. The Hornets continued in the zone and tried to pick up the pressure. The Hornets made a come back and closed the score down to four at one point. But as the time ran out, the Hornets had to foul. The Raiders stepped up, knocked down their free throws and held on for the win, 62-55.
On Saturday, the Raiders played their last home game of the season. The Raiders took on the Lassiter Trojans, a team with a winning record and a team the Raiders matched up with well. The Radiers once again ran out to an early lead, surprising the Trojans by getting a 9-2 lead. The Trojans made a run but the Raiders survived and kept the lead going into the haltime. At times, the Raiders were up by as much as 8 points in the second half. But the Trojans made a come back and slowly chipped away at the lead. With 7 secondsd left, the Raiders lead 44 - 39. The Trojans knocked down a three pointer to cut the lead to 44-42. All the Raiders would have to do is hit their free throws and the game would be done. With four seconds left our senior captain stepped to the line, and missed the front end of a one and one. The Trojans quickly passed the ball up the court, and let one fly from about 30 feet. As the buzzer sounded the ball went through the hoop for a three point shot and a one point win. The Senior Raiders were shocked and almost inconsolable. It was a tough loss for such a hard fought game.
The Raiders now stand at 7 - 17 on the year, 4 - 11 in the region, a 3 win improvement in the region last year. The Raiders occupy the 4th seed in the Sub Region and will more than likely host their next opponent on Saturday Feb. 9th. The Raiders play Pope High School on Tuesday. Pope is the fifth seed on the other side of the region and would be the Raiders first round opponent in the playoffs. Tomorrow will be a weird game. Both teams will try to win with out giving away any kind of secrets. If the Raiders win Tuesday and win on Saturday, it will be the first time the Raiders win a playoff game and it will be the first time the Raiders reach the 9 win mark in a season. Another accomplishment on a year full of accomplishments.