Raiders beat Kernels

The Raiders bounced back from a loss to Pateros by defeating the Mansfield Kernels Dec. 18. LR led the whole game, outscoring the Kernels 4-1 in the second quarter to lead at halftime 31-14. Maintaining the first half momentum, the Raiders left with a 55-41 win over the 1B Kernels.

At home against the Waterville Shockers Dec. 21, LR was looking to finish the 1B portion of North Central League play with a win, but started slow, only scoring six points in the first quarter to the Shockers 12.

The Shockers offense and defense exploded for 19 points in the second, giving up only one basket to the Raiders for a halftime Shocker lead at 31-8.

In the second half, the Raiders started to get the ball rolling on offense but the deficit was too much to overcome and the final was Shockers 54, Raiders 41. The game was the last for LR in North Central crossover play with the 1B schools, against which the Raiders have a 2-2 record.

The next day, the Raiders traveled north to Omak to take on the struggling Pioneers. Again the offense could not get things moving while Omak found their offense starting the game on a 8-0 run which was their spark for the rest of the game.

Drew Saxon hustled and tried to lead the Raiders back into the game as the halftime score was Omak 28, LR 19 still anybody’s game. Then right out of the gate in the 3rd quarter, the Pioneers went on a 13-0 run which they used the momentum from to carry them through the rest of the game for 65-42 win, their first over LR since the 2000-2001 season, which was also the last time Omak boys basketball recorded a winning season.

The next action for the Raiders was at the Brewster Holiday Tournament, which featured the Brewster Bears, Liberty Bell Mt. Lions, and the Tonasket Tigers.

Against Tonasket, the LR offense found some spark and a halftime score of Tonasket 36, LR 34. But the spark faded in the second half, and the Tigers pulled away for a 69-50 victory.

In the 3rd/4th-place game, the Raiders faced Central Washington 2B North Central League opponent Liberty Bell who had been crushed the night before by the Bears 74-37. Both squads had difficulty getting a shot to sink for a first-quarter result of 12-8 Liberty Bell.

The pace quickened in the second but Liberty still led at the half 22-15. Raider offensive struggles continued into the second half as the Mt. Lions continued to pull ahead. Drew Saxon again tried to lead the Raiders with good court vision and natural instincts. It was not enough as the Mt. Lions went on to win 50-30, the first win for Liberty Bell over the Raiders since the 2003-2004 season.

LR Head Coach Jeff Brisbois stated after the game that it seemed the Raiders were, “playing without confidence. It’s like they don’t have confidence in what we do as a team.”

When asked what needed to be improved right away Brisbois said, “Scoring and team listening. … We listen good in practice, but when the guys get into a game, they seem to get lost and like they listen to the crowd more than the coaches.”

The Raiders travel to White Swan Friday to take on the Cougars in the Central Washington 2B opener at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars are 0-8 coming off losses to Bridgeport and a 69-19 thrashing by River View before the Christmas Break.

Mansfield 10 4 15 12 41

LR 15 16 10 14 55

at Omak

Saxon 10, Garvin 9, Piccolo 7, DeWinkler 5, Nicolson 4, Picard 3, Campobasso 2

vs Liberty Bell

Rosenbaum 6, Saxon 5, Piccolo 5, Nicolson 5, Garvin 4, Picard 3, Campobasso 2