South Dearborn at South Ripley-Thursday, December 1.
Grade 7-South Dearborn 33, South Ripley 30
Despite leading at halftime, the host Raiders suffered a 33-30 loss to the South Dearborn Knights. The game came down to the final seconds, with South Ripley attempting a 3 pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, but came up just short in an exciting back and forth contest. Zach Gentile did all he could do in scoring 19 points to go along with several steals; Dalton Smith and Bryce Wrightsman each added 4; Luke Cranfill scored 2, and Nick Schwarte had one point.
Grade 8-South Ripley 46, South Dearborn 36
After being outplayed for 3 quarters, the Raiders put together an unlikely 4th quarter comeback in a 46-36 victory. The visiting Knights seemed to have the game in control, never trailing in the game and taking a 32-27 lead into the final period. However, the Raider defense stiffened, allowed only 4 points in that final quarter and scoring 19 points themselves, including 11 of 13 from the foul line. Lane Sparks persevered through a tough shooting night to score a game high 21 points (11 of 11 free throws); Cody Samples added 12 points with several steals; Brady Linkel continued his stellar play with 7 points and 7 rebounds; Bryce Franklin contributed 3 points and a team high 8 rebounds; Jacob Jines chipped in 2 and Kaden Rinear added one point. The team made 16 out of 19 free throws while South Dearborn made only one out of four attempts.
The seventh graders stand at 3-6 with the eighth graders now 8-1. The Raiders host the Greensburg Pirates on Saturday, with the seventh grade game starting at 10:00 am.
Courtesy of Raiders Coach Jeff Greiwe.