Raider Boys top Lansing Catholic in thriller, Girls fall to end regular season

On Friday night, both Portland varsity basketball teams traveled to Lansing Catholic for a CAAC White match-up.

Boys Game

In the boys game, Portland held a 21-18 lead going into halftime in a high speed game.

The Cougars would battle back in the second half of play, and the two teams were neck and neck most of the fourth quarter.

With Portland leading by three with only seconds on the clock, a Portland foul on a three point shot would put a Cougar on the line for three free throws and a chance to push the game into overtime. The first two free throws were good, and the Portland lead sat at one with one free throw left.

After Portland used its last time out, the Cougar’s final free throw would miss the mark, and the Raiders finished with a 50-49 victory.

Lansing Catholic was led by Drew Tolfree with 19 points.

Portland was led offensively by sophomore guard Dominic Novara with 18 points. Sophomore guard Evan Gross added 12 points. Sophomore forward Christopher Battley had 11 points for Portland. Senior guard Marc Nobis added five points and junior center Danton Marowelli added four points.

Scoring by quarter:

Portland 15 – 6 – 10 – 19 – 50

Lansing Catholic 9 – 9 – 12 – 19 – 49

With the win, Portland moves to 8-10 overall, 3-7 in the CAAC Whiote. They face Fowler today in a make-up that was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was pushed due to sever weather. Fowler is currently 11-7 overall.

The Portland boys squad has two contests next week to finalize their regular season schedule. On Tuesday they host Ovid-Elsie who is 16-3. On Thursday they travel to Mason who is 18-2 overall.

Girls Game

In the final game of the evening, the Portland girls squad faced a fired up Cougar squad who came into the game undefeated in conference. Lansing Catholic dominated the majority of the game and won 60-36, securing the CAAC White championship.

Junior Leah Richards led Lansing Catholic with 25 points.

Portland was led by sophomore guard Paige Spedoske and junior guard Malia Thelen who had nine points each. Sophomore forward Erica Russman added five points for Portland.

Scoring by quarter:

Portland 3 – 15 – 7 – 11 – 36

Lansing Catholic 14 – 15 – 13 – 18 – 60

The Lady Raiders finish their regular season 13-8 overall, 6-2 in the CAAC White. They begin MHSAA district play on Wednesday at 5:00 at Lakewood. They will face the winner of Hastings (7-15 overall) and Grand Rapids West Michigan Aviation Academy (8-13 overall) who will play each other in the pre-district round on Monday night.

Ionia and Lakewood will compete on the other side of the district bracket. The district finals are set for Friday night at 6:00.