RAIDERS RISE ABOVE DEVILS, REMAIN UNBEATEN
The Raiders faced their biggest test of the season so far as they went in to McDonald to play the undefeated Blue Devils. The Raiders were able to get out with a 57-49 victory and remain perfect on the season.
The Blue Devils set the pace in the first quarter, running their full court press like a well oiled machine. They quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead within the first 2 minutes thanks to a bundle of Raider turnovers caused by the pressure of the Blue Devil defense. Mike Cunningham got the Raiders on the board with an old fashioned three point play and those points slowed the game down. The Raiders were able to escape the first quarter with just a 15-7 deficit.
Mike Cunningham dominated the 2nd quarter, with 4:30 left in the half he got into double figures with his 11th point and cut the Devil lead to 20-16. Cunningham hit another bucket just before the end of the half to make the Raider deficit 27-22 at the break.
The Raiders kept pushing in the 3rd quarter and with 2:30 left in the frame the Raiders were able to cut the Devil lead to 34-32, and Chris Brooks went to the line to try and tie the game with two foul shots. He split the pair of free throws but on the miss Brady White fought for the offensive rebound and put back to give the Raiders their first lead of the game at 35-34. The Raiders would lead 39-36 after 3 quarters of play.
The 4th quarter stayed back and forth, the Blue Devils couldn’t break into the Raider lead. With 6:00 left the Raiders held a 41-38 lead and desperately needed some space from the Blue Devils. Brady White hit a three pointer to give them that space, and a 44-38 lead. With 4:00 left it looked like the Raiders were in control with a 46-38 lead but the Blue Devils would not go away. They went on a quick 5-0 run in 30 seconds to cut the Raider lead to 46-43. Both teams struggled to score the next couple possessions but with 2:00 left Brandon Youngs hit a big shot to push the Raiders back up to a 48-43 lead. He then returned with an old fashioned three point play the next trip down the floor to make it 51-43. The Raiders never looked back and would go on to escape McDonald with a 57-49 win.
Mike Cunningham lead the way with a game high 25 points while Brady White added 9. The Raiders move to 11-0 and will return to action Saturday as they travel to Lowellville.
