Following the New Year, it’s time for the Coach Matisi and the Lady Raiders to get back to work! YSN’s Anthony Hartwig sits down with Coach, and helps focus in on what lies ahead on the back stretch of this season.
All that and more on this edition of South Range Coach’s Corner!
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.
The Lady Raiders got all they wanted from Circleville Saturday to finish their time in Teays Valley. The Raiders escaped with a 44-43 victory.
To say the Raiders started on the wrong foot would be an understatement. The first quarter came and went, and the Raiders were still looking for their first points from the floor. Their only 3 points of the frame came from the foul line. It was clear this game would be won by defensive effort, which despite the offensive struggles only allowed 12 first quarter points.
As the second quarter started the Raiders desperately needed to see a shot fall. Senior Sam Patrone stepped up with a three-pointer to give the Raiders their first field goal of the game still trailing 12-6. After that shot fell the offense began to find a good enough rhythm to get back in the game. Trailing 16-11 Bri Modic hit a three and Izzy Lamparty hit a jump shot. Just like that the 12-3 deficit was a 16-16 tie. The Raiders took their first lead of the game off another Bri Modic three making it 21-18 that would end up being the score at the break.
Although the Raiders stormed back to take the lead in the 2nd quarter they couldn’t seem to find enough offense to separate themselves in the second half. The zone of the Circleville Tigers was having a noticeable effect on the Raider offense. Their defense, however, helped them hold on to a 33-28 lead after 3.
The Tigers would not go away in the fourth and final frame. They managed to tie the game for the first time in the 2nd half with 5:00 to go at 36-36. Time kept ticking away and with a little over 3 minutes left the game was still tied 38-38, each team struggling to capitalize on defensive stops. The Tigers took a 40-38 lead with under 3 minutes to go. Senior Maddie Durkin took the ball to the hoop and quickly tied the game back up at 40-40, and she was fouled. Unable to complete the old-fashioned three-point play, Dani Vuletich cleaned up the offensive rebound and got a bucket to put the Raiders back on top 42-40. The next Tiger possession Sam Patrone came up huge with a steal and a fast break layup to make it 44-40. The Tigers resilient as ever would find a way to make it 44-43 with 38.9 seconds remaining. After an empty Raider possession, the Tigers got the ball back with 8 seconds to work with. Everyone in the gym was ready to eagerly watch a final shot go up in the air, everyone except Bree Kohler that is. Before the Tigers could get off a last-second attempt, Kohler snatched the ball away for her 5th steal of the game and 11th of the weekend, ran the other way, expiring the clock and the hopes of Circleville. The Raiders held on to win 44-43
Dani Vuletich led the Raiders offensively with 12 points while Maddie Durkin was also in double figures with 10. Durkin also led the team in assists with 5. The Lady Raiders have 9 days off before they return home to host Mooney on January 8th.
The infamous words uttered by Doc Brown have never been more realized than by Wellsville standout, Garrett Scott.
With his legendary brother’s (now Tiger Coach) eyes firmly focused on him. Little brother, Garrett is looking to forge his own path to success.
This week’s Tiger Player Profile: Garrett Scott
In this edition of Wellsville Coach’s Corner, YSN’s Michael Reiner discusses some key points in the career of Coach Bug Thompson from both a coaching and player standpoint.
They also discuss some of the accolades and accomplishments that Wellsville and Coach continue to stack up.
All that, and more, on this week’s Wellsville Coach’s Corner!
The Lady Raiders opened their time in the John Sheets Holiday Classic hosted by Teays Valley Friday night with a 70-54 win over Jonathan Alder.
The game started fast-paced and equally matched. With just 2 minutes gone by the score was already 10-10, Izzy Lamparty scored 11 points in the first quarter to give the Raiders a narrow 18-17 lead after a quarter of play,
It took until the 6:40 mark in the 2nd quarter for the Raiders to get a lead greater than 2, at 20-17. Then the Raiders perimeter shooting gave them a boost, the team’s leader in 3 point percentage Bri Modic hit a three to put the Raiders up 28-20 with just over 5 minutes to go in the half. And a 7 point margin is what the Raiders would take into the half leading at the break 36-29. Lamparty already had 15 points.
The Raider defense raised their level of play in the third frame. Bree Kohler had 4 of her 6 steals come in the quarter, none bigger than one coming with just under 2 minutes left in the 3rd that would help the Raiders push the lead into double digits, they would never look back.
Bri Modic hit two more threes in the fourth quarter and the Raiders were looking at a 57-40 lead with just under 5:00 to go in the game. A 17 point lead in a game that was mainly a 1 or 2 possession game in the first half. The pace of the game sped up in the final 5:00 minutes as 27 total points were scored, unfortunately for the Pioneers of Jonathan Alder those points were split 14-13. The Lady Raiders would go on to win 70-54 and improve to 9-1 on the season.
Freshman Izzy Lamparty would lead the Raiders tying a career high with 22 points. Maddie Durkin scored 16 and Bri Modic added 13. The Raiders would play one more game in Teays Valley Saturday at 4:30 against Circleville.
If you’re looking for motivation, look no further than South Range’s Jaxon Anderson. He has his future marked meticulously for success. He reads motivational books for competitive advantages against his opponents. Anderson also leads by example on the court. If he’s having an off night offensively (rarely,) he will pick it up defensively. If a friend, or teammate needs help: Jaxon is there.
All this maturity…and he’s only a Junior.
Check in with Jaxon on this week’s Raider Player Profile: Jaxon Anderson
When Crestview Junior Jude Riffle took the court this year, it was the first time he had seen minutes at the Varsity level. His stomach in knots, his mind racing, and the pressure was on.
Fast forward two months, and Jude now stands as one of the veterans on this team, and alongside Senior, Scotty Murray- is the leader the Rebels need to get back to their winning tradition on the hardwood!
Check out this week’s Rebel Player Profile: Jude Riffle.
Coach Cullen and The Raiders have improved to 9-0 overall, and continue to roll through the heart of their schedule. Coach C talks about how they’ve scored their journey thus far.
All that and more on this week’s South Range Coach’s Corner with Coach Cullen!
On this week’s show, Coach Wilson sits down with YSN’s DJ Yokley and discusses the challenging pieces to leading a young team, and how building a foundation now will mean success later.
Catch this week’s ‘Teachable Moments’ on Crestview Coach’s Corner with Jeff Wilson.