St. Raymonds 65, Riverside 63

We had a long delay here due to some blood on the court - no major injury but it has just thrown off my schedule to write.

St. Raymonds has come out strong this game. With a 25 point 2nd quarter, they lead by nine at half. The Ravens are shooting 59% from the field and have been led by Daryl Bryant with 13 (5-6 on FG, including 2-3 from three point range) , Omari Lawrence (4 of 5 on field goals) and Kevin Parrom with five rebounds. Riverside got 11 from Justin Burton and nine from Carlos Sanford. Weslye Saunders has four rebounds.

Lawrence just picked up his fourth foul with 2 mins to go in the 3rd quarter. The Ravens are really packing down on Saunders in the paint. End of three, the lead is down to six. With three to go, Saunders makes a free throw to narrow the gap to three.

With 11.8 seconds to go, Saunders just made the first of two free throws. After a timeout, he makes the second to tie the game. The Ravens' Gerald Colds drives the lane and floats up a bucket - 01.8 seconds left (the photo above/right is Coles starting his drive to the hoop). Riverside calls timeout and once the players come back from the TO, St. Raymond's calls one as well.

Weslye Saunders runs the baseline and heaves a long baseball pass to right past the half court line to Carlos Sanford, who deftly gathers the ball and gets off a fairly decent shot but it is high and bounces off the backboard. Ravens win.

Riverside 15 19 12 17 - 63
St. Raymonds - 18 25 9 13 - 65

Riverside - J. Burton 21, C. Sanford 13, S. Evans 13, W. Saunders 10, H. Collins 3, C. Byrd 2. Leading rebounders - S. Evans 6, W. Saunders 5. Assist leader - four with one.

St. Raymonds - O. Lawrence 19, D. Bryant 15, G. Colds 11, D. Benbow 8, K. Parrom 6, L. McNeil 6. Leading rebounder - K. Parrom 7. Assist leader -three with two.

Taft 57, Riverside 39

Taft's speed and reach is giving Riverside some trouble to start out. Larry Drew Jr again has been fun to watch. Riverside's Weslye Saunders has been a bright spot for the Pirates. At the half, Riverside has seven points from Saunders while Taft is led by Garrett Green with six.

Taftf leads by 11 at the end of three. Drew has made more dazzling passes in one game than we've seen all day and the Toreadors slowly edge further away, 50-28 with three to go. He isn't looking for his own shot but working to put everyone else on the scoreboard, be it Bryce Smith for threes in the corner or Green down the lane.

Taft pulls their starters and that's all she wrote. Green finished with 12, Toreador long distance shooter Bryce Smith with 13 points. Riverside got 13 from Justin Burton and Saunders with nine.

Riverside 8 6 11 14 - 39
Taft (CA) 15 9 12 21 - 57

Riverside - J. Burton 13, W. Saunders 9, S. Evans 8, H. Collins 3, C. Sanford 2, G. Hill 2, T. Ringer 2. Leading rebounders - W. Saunders 9. Assists leader - C. Byrd 2.

Taft - B. Smith 13, G. Green 11, B. Kamwa 10, J. Hawkins 9, L. Drew 8, T. Carter 4, E. Phelps 2. Leading rebounders - G. Green 7. Assists leader - L. Drew 4.

Riverside 67, Kinston 64

Quinton Coples and the Kinston Vikings are in a dog fight with the Riverside Pirates. The fast paced game has a lot of up and down action.

Coples leads Kinston with 10 points and six rebounds. Bo Ingram has seven points as well. Justin Burton has 11 points for the Pirates. Sidney Evans contributed six. Halftime - Riverside 31, Kinston 29.

Riverside holds a slight lead as the clock ticks under one minute and Kinston starts to foul. 15 seconds to go, 65-61 Riverside. Miguel Starkey drains a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds to go and we have a 65-64 game on our hands. Kinston fouls but Riverside makes their free throws and holds on for the win.

Riverside 17 14 16 20 - 67
Kinston 15 14 18 17 - 64

Riverside - J. Burton 17, S. Evans 11, W. Saunders 10, C. Sanford 9, G. Hill 7, H. Collins 4, C. Byrd 2. Leading Rebounders: J. Burton 3, W. Saunders 3. Leading Assists: J. Burton 2.

Kinston: Q. Coples 18, D. Ingram 15, C. Hines 12, M. Starkey 9, R. Bullock 6, A. Sutton 2. J. Miller 2. Leading Rebounders: Q. Coples 7, D. Ingram 4. Leading Assists: M. Starkey 3.