Tuesday night, the Raiders basketball team handed the Palo Duro Dons their first district loss in 88 games.
In front of the home crowd, the Raiders shocked the Dons with an eight-point victory, their first district loss in eight years. The Raiders led by two points at halftime and continued to increase their lead in second half. While the Dons tried to mount a comeback late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders made clutch plays and ended up securing the victory. Center Joseph Scott led the Raiders with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Tanner Lakey also tacked on 13 points.
“We played great defense,” sophomore Ridrell Holman said. “We held them to 42 points when they can normally put up 70.”
Joseph Scott and other post players led the defense, which stifled the Dons’ offense and held Oklahoma State signee Michael Cobbins to 15 points.
“We got great preparation in practice,” Holman said. “Our 1-3-1 [zone defense] worked just like we practiced it.”
The Raider trailed by six points at the end of the first quarter, in which they struggled with fouls and turnovers.
“We just made sure to keep our composure,” Holman said. “We had open shots that just weren’t going in, but we knew sooner or later they would start falling.”
Despite multiple lead changes in the second quarter, the Raiders held a two-point lead at halftime.
“We proved we could beat PD the last time we played them, but we only played one half; we had to play all 32 minutes this time,” Holman said. “We didn’t have to make any changes. We just came out in the second half and hit the clutch shots.”
While the Raiders still trailed at the end of the third quarter, they took charge late in the game and held on for the upset win.
“The thing that makes PD so good is that people are intimidated by them,” Holman said. “We didn’t get intimidated. We came out knowing we could win and then we made it happen.”
While Holman, the team’s leading scorer, only put up three points in this game, his passing proved to make a difference as he racked up several assists.
“I passed more than I shot,” Holman said. “I had a lot of open teammates, and it’s better to win with more assists than to lose with a lot of points.”
This win secures the No. 2 playoff seed for the Raiders as they prepare for the postseason.
“We gained a lot of momentum from this game because we know if we can beat PD, we can beat anyone in the regional tournament,” Holman said.
