Raiders score in bunches as Lamar sweeps Park Place

Jan. 7—The Park Place Christian Academy basketball teams traveled to Lamar on Friday night. In the end, neither the Park Place boys nor the girls could handle explosive offensive performances by the Raiders as Lamar followed a 75-15 girls victory with a 60-50 boys victory.

Lamar girls 75, Park Place girls 15

Lamar (11-8) dominated Park Place on both ends of the court from the tip.

The Raiders ran their full-court press perfectly in the first quarter and rarely allowed the Crusaders to cross half court. Aryah Grace and Blake Hart combined for 24 points to give the Raiders a 24-1 lead into the second quarter.

Lamar coach Joe Miller chose to call off the dogs defensively at the end of the first quarter by switching out of press defense, but the Raiders did not take their foot off the gas on offense. They continued to hit layups and outside shots all game to secure a 75-15 victory at home.

"I thought we played well," Miller said. "When you've got a game that goes like that, it's easy to just cruise, but I thought we played hard, especially on defense early."

Grace and Hart are close friends off the court, but they are a dominant offensive duo on it. Grace can shoot from deep and use her length to finish inside, and she did plenty of both to rack up 26 points. Hart, Lamar's point guard, shot her way to 23 points.

"About five games ago, it's like the light came on. She's driving and she's getting 20-plus a game. It takes pressure off of Aryah," Miller said on Hart's offensive impact. "Blake just opened up the offense. When she drives, she's a really good shooter in the lane."

Lamar's scoring output was supplemented by 3-point sniper Reece Shaffer, who hit three 3-pointers and two free throws. Miller referred to Shaffer as a "really good all-around player" who can also drive to the basket, rebound and play solid defense.

"All three of them can shoot outside, but I look to Blake and Aryah more to drive. When they drive, the defense is going to sink in, and then we can kick it out to Reece, and when Reece is relaxed she can shoot really well," Miller said.

As good as the Raiders' offense was, their press defense looked even better in the first quarter. Lamar's full-court press allows the speedy Raiders to get plenty of steals, which are often turned into easy baskets.

"The number one reason you run it is you hope to get a steal, but I run it a lot just to keep a faster pace going. I feel like we've got quickness and speed, and I feel like we play better at a fast pace," Miller said.

On Jan. 3, Lamar made a 15-point comeback to defeat East Rankin Academy, which Miller attributed to late success with the press defense. He said he wanted that win to serve as a springboard for Lamar's success as the season progresses.

So far, it has.

"I definitely feel like we played really well," Hart said. "When we first started off in the press, it was very visible that they couldn't really take the pressure."

Lamar boys 60, Park Place boys 50

Park Place Academy jumped out to a 5-0 start before hitting a 3-pointer at the beginning of the second quarter to take a 14-13 lead.

Then, Addison Clodfelter hit a shot to give the lead back to Lamar (6-10). The Raiders never trailed from there, eventually winning the home game 60-50.

"I thought we played pretty good. I thought we came out with some energy," Lamar coach Seth Cheatham said. "Lately our offense has been struggling, and it struggled tonight, especially in the first half, but we just kept grinding and kept turning them over and got a lot of points off turnovers."

The Raiders and the Crusaders battled back and forth all game until Lamar had a 40-38 lead at the end of the third quarter. Spence Hannigan made three layups and Salone Elliott found the basket to provide Lamar with an 8-0 run at the outset of the final quarter.

The Crusaders pulled within five points late in the game, but Clodfelter and Cooper Gordy hit some key free throws to put them away for good.

Cheatham said the 8-0 stretch by Hannigan and Elliott was huge because it put the Raiders in the driver's seat.

"That was a good stretch. That really put them in the coffin there. We were up two to four the whole game, but that really changed it," Hannigan said.

Hannigan uses his length to shut down opponents on the defensive end of the court, and he has a complete toolkit of finishing moves under the basket on offense. He led the Raiders with 24 points.

Clodfelter added in 17 points, including six in the fourth quarter. Still, Cheatham said the Raiders need to improve on offense, especially when shooting layups early in games.

"We've got to make those cheap shots. We missed too many opportunities under the basket. If we do that, I think it puts it away in the first half," Cheatham said.

However, a win is a win, and the Raiders needed a district win after going 0-4 to open district play.

"We did pretty good," Hannigan said. "We're getting back at them now after our past district losses, and I think we're on a good path now to turn around the season."