Raiders Play Hard in Losing Effort to Eaton Rapids

If you follow Portland Raiders Boys’ Basketball you know that the pieces are coming together. Coach Jason Goerge said after the Haslett game on Tuesday night that he wanted his team to start playing hard for the whole game. And that is what they did at home last night against the heavily favored Greyhounds, who came into the game with 7 wins against 1 loss while averaging 67 offensive points per game.

Raider seniors, Gavin McGregor and Brody Smith, who are 5’10” and 5’11” didn’t give an inch to Eaton Rapids 6’7” Bronson Sysum and 6’5” Griffin Gleeson, who are also seniors. Smith “was a workhorse tonight”, Goerge said, “He scored 11 points and rebounded very well down low”. “Gavin was huge on the boards. He grabbed 8 rebounds and played very well defensively”. The result was that the Raider’s held Eaton Rapids to 56 points on the night. The only problem was that they scored only 43 points themselves led by Aryan Virk’s 17. The Greyhounds were led by Sysum’s 14 points along with Gleeson and Mason Wichman who each chipped in 11 points.

The final score of 56-43 does not reflect that the game was still within the Raider’s reach until the middle of the 4th Quarter. Eaton Rapids scored on 10 out of 14 fourth quarter free throws, as the Raiders ultimately forced them to win the game at the free-throw line. “I can’t complain about our 4th Quarter effort”, Goerge reflected after the game, “I hate losing but I’m proud of these kids. They competed all night!”

The Raiders, who are now 2-5 on the season, travel to Olivet on Tuesday for a 7:00 tip-off.