Portland Raiders Defeat Lansing Christian Pilgrims 55-40

Raider Boys Basketball Coach Dave Pettit said that, “the biggest shot of the game may have been Zach Piers three point shot in the middle of the second quarter.” The score had stalled with Portland leading 16-9 when Piers shot swished through the net putting the Raiders up by ten. Lansing Christian pulled to within two, near the end of the first half, to make the score 23-21 but then Portland Junior David Svanda made a picture perfect assist to a fast breaking Jordan Petersen to put the Raiders up 25-21 to end the first half.

The Raiders started the second half with a 10-0 run and Lansing Christian never recovered. The Pilgrims trailed by double digits for most all of the second half, pulling briefly to within 9 at the end of the third quarter.

Pilgrim Coach, Chris Mustaine, said after the game, “Portland is super physical and played very well tonight. They had some great shots and hit some big 3’s in the game”. Mustaine said he was very pleased with his team. “We had a little run, hit some shots, and got better as a team.” Lansing Christian fell to 0-4. It is unfamiliar territory for the Pilgrims who made it to the state Semi-Finals just two years ago. “The goal is to be ready for March. I have a hard-working group of guys”, Mustaine concluded.

Portland improved its record to 2-2 for the year. Aryan Virk led Portland and all scorers with 17 points, Owen Russell had 15; David Svanda contributed 7; Jordan Petersen chipped in 6; Tate Dziewiatkowski had 4 along with “a great defensive game” according to Coach Pettit; and Gavin McGregor and Zach Pier finished the scoring with 3 points each. Raider Sr. starter Blake Patrick was ill and did not suit up for the game.

Justice Shafer led Lansing Christian with 11 points. Jacob Peters, Jalen Shager and Max Buchalski each had 9 points and James Felton contributed 2.

In the Junior Varsity Game Portland defeated Lansing Christian 56-15. Trent Myers finished the game with 17 points and Jack Roe scored 13 to lead the Jr. Raider scoring.

Portland travels to Lansing Sexton on Friday night with a scheduled tip-off of 6:00.