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COLORADO COUNTY SHOWDOWN:
The Columbus Cardinals, much like the Lady Cardinals, made the trip to Rice Consolidated High School to take on the Rice Raiders.
Like the girls’ game, the gym was packed with fans of both teams as this cross-country rivalry game always draws a large crowd.
The Cards ended up coming away with the 5834 win to pick up their fourth district win on the year while the Raiders fell to 0-4.
Cardinals
Like the girls since the Cards won, let’s look at them first and talk about their game. The Cards are getting healthier and more key players like Brody Tribe and Brody Vinklarek returning to the lineup recently.
Both of those players were linebackers on the football team for the Cards, and they played basketball the same way. Fast, aggressive and having a knack for scoring.
The Cards played a very strong game inside the paint against the Raiders as they dominated the rebound category. They got a ton of second chance points on offense, and it helped them build a comfortable lead.
On the defensive side, the Cards used their length from Rylan Carruthers, Wyatt Tipton, Tribe and Vinklarek to block a lot of the Raiders’ shot attempts. They frustrated the Raiders offense, but they did not get a ton of foul calls with the Raiders playing a very clean game defensively.
The Cards just moved the ball effectively and got a lot of clean lanes to run to the basket and knock down easy lay-ups to help extend their lead late in the game to seal the win.
Raiders
The Raiders, as stated earlier, played a very strong defensive game despite the fact they gave up 58 points. They did a good job of blocking some of the Cards’ shot attempts, leading to extra possessions.
The biggest problem for them was the rebounding department as their Cards came up with way too many second chance opportunities and offensive rebounds. Then on the offensive side of the ball, the Raiders did not struggle.
They seemingly could not buy a basket as the rim was their worst enemy Tuesday night. They got a lot of really good looks at the basket but just could not get shots to fall.
It’s not a bad thing; it was just one of those nights for the Raiders offense which happens to every team.
The Cardinals look ahead in their schedule for their next game on the road against Industrial while the Raiders will make the trip down to Palacios looking for their first district win. Noth games are scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23, with tip off at 7:30 p.m.
