The Raiders won a back-and-forth contest against the Lee Summit Tigers 56-51 Saturday night at Blue Valley North High School for the 810 Varsity Showcase 42.

The Raiders (5-0) came into the contest ranked No.1 in Kansas Class 6A. The Tigers (5-2) went into the contest ranked No. 3 in Missouri Class 6 District 6.

After a slow first quarter, the Raiders were able to come back and had a 27-26 lead at halftime. The score stayed close for the third quarter, and going into the final eight minutes, the Raiders were up 43-38.

“That was a very good team that played physical and gave us trouble, and we hadn’t had trouble in our first five games,” Raiders head coach Brett McFall said. “We weren’t very good at the beginning, but then we adjusted, and that was good to see.”

The Tigers opened the 4th quarter on an 8-0 run led by senior Blake Meyers, who had six in the run and finished the game with eight points total 

It would stay close, as with 2:17 left in the game it was all knotted up at 48. Then Raider senior Ben Allen was able to knock down eight free throws down the stretch, his final two hitting with 19 seconds left in the game, putting the Raiders up 56-51. Allen would finish as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points.

“Our coach has us shoot 50 free throws a day, so anyone on this team could’ve done it; it just happened to be me at the line,” Allen said. “I’m just thankful to be in that situation, facing a good team, having the chance to put the game away.”

South (6-0) is back in action Tuesday, Jan. 6, at Blue Valley West. Lee’s Summit (5-3) will host Blue Springs South on Tuesday, Jan. 6.