Photos courtesy of Braden Gilley
The Raiders won the tip-off and turned the ball over on the first play due to a charge. Akeim Young blocked the Cougars first shot, putting them on notice. The Raiders scored after an offensive rebound and put back for the first basket of the game. The Cougars turned it over on their second possession. Gavin Tinsley scored on the inbound pass. After a Cougars airball, Laurice Hamilton got his first basket of the game on a transition layup.
Ariel Muniz got to the free throw line for the Cougars and went 1-2 from the line, scoring their first point of the game. Tinsley went to the free-throw line for the Raiders after an offensive rebound. Tinsley went 1-2 from the line. Patrick Wright got on the board for the Raiders on a nice pull-up at the free-throw line to extend the lead. A Cougars charge turned the ball over. Tinsley found Wright for the wide-open 3. The Cougars had a nice block to stop the Raiders fast break. Tinsley got to the free throw line again and went 2-2. Jamin Andrews got the steal and dunk for the Raiders on the fast break. Ocean Thompson made the first basket of the quarter for the Cougars with a 3-pointer. After both teams missed, Andrews stole it and got the crowd hyped with a vicious dunk in transition. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 18-4, Raiders.
Niko Sosa had a nice block for the Cougars, and Jalen Marshall went to the free-throw line for the Raiders, going 0-2. The Raiders stole it, and Tinsley dunked it on the fast break. Thompson scored for the Cougars to get their first basket of the quarter. Hamilton got to the free throw line and went 1-2. Tinsley got his own rebound and the putback. Sammy Zelaya scored on a nice step-back basket for the Cougars. Tinsley responded nicely with a floater in open space. Logan Teeden got to the free throw line and went 1-2. Lennox Zelaya got his first basket of the game for the Cougars on a nice mid-range shot. Andrews came off the bench and made an immediate impact with a nasty block, then got to the free throw line for the Raiders, going 0-2. At halftime, the score was 28-12 Raiders.
The Raiders got the ball to start the third. Hamilton got to the free-throw line after being fouled in the paint, going 1-2. The Cougars missed the floater, and Hamilton got to the free-throw line again but missed both. Tinsley got the steal for the Raiders, and Hamilton scored in the paint. The Cougars turned it over on a charge. Lennox Zelaya scored the first basket of the half for the Cougars. Tinsley got the offensive rebound and putback to extend the Raiders lead. Muniz hit a nice spin move in transition for the Cougars. Wright and Tinsley scored back-to-back baskets in the paint for the Raiders. Tinsley stole it, and Wright scored on the fast break. Ian Ibanez hit an and one basket for the Cougars. Ben Martin responded with a nice 3-pointer. Teeden got to the free throw line for the Raiders and went 1-2. Tyler Gonser had a nice post-move for the Cougars and got the basket. Teeden had a nice spin move in transition for the layup. After a Cougars miss, Teeden sent a full-court heave for the last-second shot, and it went in as time expired. At the end of 3, the score was 48-28, Raiders.
Gonser scored the first basket of the fourth for the Cougars. Tinsley scored the first basket of the 4th for the Raiders. Tinsley got a nice block and was rewarded with another layup. Young hit a 3-pointer for the Raiders, then Gonser responded with a nice mid-range. Hamilton had a nice and one for the Raiders. Hamilton got back to the free throw line and went 1-2. Hamilton got it going with another layup and then swatted the Cougars when he got back on defense.
The Raiders emptied their bench with 4:45 left in the game. Wright pulled up at the free throw line for the Raiders basket. Ian Ibanez hit a deep 3 for the Cougars, followed by another 3 from Niko Sosa. After both teams exchanged misses, Sosa made a nice layup. Simeon Hogan checked in for the Raiders and scored instantly with a layup off the inbound pass. Sammy Zelaya got an and one for the Cougars and converted. Seth Hogan stole the pass and found Simeon Hogan for the fast-break layup. Gonser banked it in after the inbound pass for the Cougars. Sammy Zelaya then got to the free throw line as the Cougars were in the bonus and went 1-2. The final score was 68-53, Raiders.
The Raiders have now won 5 of their last 6 games and are looking to finish strong with just a few games left. As for the Cougars, they’ve lost 9 out of their last 10 and hope to bounce back with 6 games remaining in their season.