.jpg)
The Rice Raiders were right back on the court right after opening their Christmas presents as they traveled to Ganado to participate in a tournament.
The Raiders took on the likes of El Campo, Ganado, Boling and Danbury in a really tough challenge right after the holiday.
The Raiders started the tournament off a little rusty as their first game was their first and only loss of the tournament. They lost to El Campo by a score of 65-54 as they tried to knock the rust off and pick up a win.
The Raiders were on the losing end of this one but the fact that they scored 54 points after a good couple of days off is impressive and was a positive sign of things to come. In their next game, the Raiders took on the hosting team, Ganado.
The Raiders did an excellent job of blocking out the crowd noise from the Ganado faithful and simply played their game. They did a good job limiting Ganado’s offense and held them to only 37 points.
The Raiders defense played a great game in game two of the tournament and that led to their high-flying offense to score early and often. They scored a total of 47 points to blowout Ganado by 10 points on their home court.
This gave the Raiders a ton of confidence as they set their sights on game three against Boling. This game felt like a playoff game as both teams took away time and space, and both teams had to move the ball effectively if they wanted to score.
The Raiders ended up winning this game 35-32 in their closest game of the tournament. They traded leads all game long, and the Raiders were finally able to pull away on the scoreboard late and come away with a very important win.
Then in their final game the Raiders took on Danbury and again came away with a blowout win. They defeated Danbury 56-32 to cap off their time in the Ganado tournament with three straight wins.
This is huge for the Raiders because it not only gives them confidence, but it pushes their record to 12-5. This three-game winning streak also comes right before they begin their district schedule, so they are coming into the most important part of their schedule with a full head of steam.
This team knows how to defend, and they know how to move the ball and execute on the offensive side of the ball. Those two qualities coupled with their ever-growing confidence is a recipe for success as they enter their district schedule.
The Raiders will travel to Yoakum on Tuesday, Jan. 6, with opening tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
