RAIDERS USE FINAL GASP TO KEEP WIN STREAK ALIVE
CANFIELD OH- South Range came in to Tuesday night sporting a 4 game winning streak. As they prepared to host Struthers, they knew this would be a different animal to beat. The Wildcats bring a ton of talent with them everywhere they go. Despite all of that though, these two teams found themselves locked in a defensive battle instead of a high flying barn burner. In fact only nine points were scored between the two teams in the first quarter. The trend continued the rest of the night. The Raiders held a 16-14 lead into the locker room.
It was the second half where Struthers started to pick it up a little bit. They slowly but surely built up a 30-22 lead by the start of the fourth quarter. They’d eventually grab a ten point lead later on in the final frame. With time running down and their backs against the wall, the Raiders turned on a switch and went on a quick 10-0 run to tie things up. It was helped along by a couple of interior shots from Landon Moore, and a three from Nate Lewis. It wouldn’t be Nate’s last clutch play either. After the Raiders tied the game at 36-36, the Raiders defense forced a turnover. On the other end Lewis drilled a mid range jumper from the foul line to give his team the two point lead with 1 second left. Struthers had a pretty good last look considering they only had one tick to get it off, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Raiders walked away with a five game win streak 38-36.
Moore led the Raiders, and all scorers with 16 points. Lewis was able to finish with 7 points, and 5 of those came during the Raiders 12-0 run to end the game. Ayden Leon had to really work for his 7 points as Struthers made a point to lock down the paint.
The Wildcats were led by Austin McCollough who got in to double figures with 11 points. Chance Lazcko had a big third quarter for the Wildcats and finished with 8 points. Nick Delgratta and Rocco Garchar both scored 6 points for the Struthers offense.
South Range is still riding high, but their streak will be tested again on Friday as they welcome in Niles. Struthers will try to bounce back as they host league leading Girard.
