The Raider boys basketball team opened Sunflower League play against the Olathe West Owls. Olathe West came into the game 2-0 and the Raiders came in 1-0. 

“The game plan was to sprint back on defense and not let them get out in transition,” junior Drake Debaun said. “We wanted to push the ball up the floor and not let them get set.”

The Owls won the tip and quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Raiders answered back with some quick buckets by sophomore Conor Kerrigan. Senior Jadon Sautter and Kerrigan got two early fouls. At the end of the first quarter, the Raiders were up 15-11 despite many turnovers and fouls.

In the second quarter, the Raiders dealt with some missed calls by the officials, but they were led by senior Brody Featherston and Kerrigan to stay strong and finish the quarter ahead 32-22.

In the third quarter, DeBaun really came alive, starting off the quarter with a three and scoring the bulk of the points while the defense stayed strong, holding the Owls to seven points in the quarter. Despite junior Max McKenna and Sautter both getting into foul trouble, the Raiders were up 47-29 at the end of the quarter. 

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Raiders missed easy shots on back-to-back possessions and the Owls made them pay by going on a 7-2 run. Junior Thomas Burns and Sautter both got into foul trouble, but the Raiders held strong winning by a score of 63-48 led by a strong second half by Debaun and McKenna. 

The Raiders hope to build off this momentum into the Broomfield tournament in Denver, Colorado, and into the start of their season.

“Our first six coming out this year are really, really tough,” head coach Brett McFall said. “We know that we’ve got two down. Now we’ve got to go to Colorado and play three teams we’ve never seen before.”