Hot CJ cracks Thunder

By Greg Oakford
IT took just 13 minutes, but the Knox Raiders men’s squad managed to avoid disaster with a gritty come from behind victory against the North West Tasmania Thunder.
Keeping their home finals hopes alive, the Raiders started on fire and at the halfway point of the first quarter, had opened a healthy 18-6 lead.
However, the visiting Thunder shifted the momentum, closing the opening term out on an 18-4 run to lead it by two as Raiders fans were left stunned.
Neither team could extend their lead further than two points in the opening minutes of the second quarter, until a quick five-point haul by the Thunder pushed the visitors lead out to six.
Turnovers started to creep into the Raiders play as the team looked out of sync going into the main break and were faced with a nine-point deficit.
Urgency should have been at a premium at the start of the third quarter for the Raiders but the home side continued to play sloppy and couldn’t make crucial stops at the defensive end of the floor.
However, the Thunder continued to push their lead out to15 points with three and a half minutes left in the quarter. With their backs against the wall, something finally clicked in the Raiders camp and the team responded with flying colours.
A John Philip basket off a Sean Carroll assist started the comeback for the home side as CJ Massingale reeled off six consecutive points in 60 seconds and Carroll played inspired defence, coming up with two steals and helping peg the lead back to a manageable seven by the three quarter time buzzer.
Another Massingale scoring explosion in the final term helped the Raiders open up their first lead since early in the second quarter.
The star import scored nine points in just over a minute, giving Knox a two-point advantage.
Lester Strong also came up with a big defensive block against Jeff Dowdell on the next possession and turned his good defensive work into points as he converted a two-point basket off a Mick Hill assist to give the Raiders a 78-74 lead.
The visitors hung tough and went on a quick 5-1 run to tie the ball game at 79 apiece, before another Strong two pointer left the Raiders with a two-point advantage with 2:49 left on the clock.
Momentum stayed with the Raiders, who took home a hard fought 92-86 victory.