Raiders bounce back

By Greg Oakford
KNOX Raiders men’s squad have taken fourth spot on the ladder after splitting their double-header round on the weekend.
In the first clash of the round, the Raiders went down to the Geelong Supercats in the inaugural Timezone Challenge Shield.
In a high-scoring affair, the Raiders got the early jump on the home side and led it by three points at the end of the first quarter.
But the Supercats erased the three-point deficit by half-time as both teams went into the locker room tied at 48 apiece.
With both C. J. Massingale and Lester Strong in foul trouble, the Raiders looked to alternative scoring options in Mick Hill, John Philip and Sean Carroll.
A Philip two-point basket assisted by Hill half-way through the third quarter saw the Raiders open up a nine-point advantage, but a quick 8-0 run by the Supercats shifted the momentum back to the home side.
The Raiders closed out the third well and established a four-point advantage going into the final quarter but it was the Supercats who scored a game-winning 30 points in the fourth to take home the honour by just a point, 100-99.
Despite the devastating loss, the Raiders had to regroup for their clash with rivals Dandenong Rangers on Saturday night.
With the stakes high, the Raiders jumped out to an early 27-18 lead by the end of the fist quarter, Massingale and Philip both scoring eight points each.
The Raiders continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, scoring a further 27 points and kept the Rangers to just 16 points to hold a commanding 20-point lead by the main break.
But, turnovers plagued the Raiders in the second half as the home side committed 13 to help keep the Rangers in the game.
A 43-40 rebounding count in favour of the Raiders helped negate the lopsided turnover count as the Rangers couldn’t get the lead back under double figures in the final quarter.
But it was the Raiders night, bouncing back from the previous night’s defeat to take a 94-80 victory.