PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Raiders defeat Dragons

ADRIAN — Sparked by the hot shooting of Todd Peterson in the first half and a steady all-around effort by Andy Oakland in the second half Friday night, the Fulda Raiders earned a 63-59 victory over the Adrian Dragons in a season-opening Red Rock Conference high school boys’ basketball game.

Peterson scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to help Fulda (1-0) take a 37-33 halftime lead, while Oakland scored 15 of his 20 points after intermission, grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds and collected six steals to aid the Raiders’ bid to hold off a late charge by Adrian (0-1).

Nick Reyne led the Dragons with 21 points and nine assists, as Adrian rallied from a 12-point deficit (47-35) and was within one (58-57) with less than a minute to play in the second half.

But Oakland, who was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, sank four straight foul shots in the final 16.4 seconds to give Fulda a 63-57 lead before Adrian’s Cody Polzine scored a layup just prior to the final buzzer.

The Dragons turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions in the last minute, as Zach Holt and Trevor Ruesch came up with key steals to help the Raiders hold on down the stretch.

“I’m real proud of the team effort that we put forth to work ourselves back into the game in the second half,” Adrian head coach Dean Schnaible said. “We are a young and inexperienced team, and we certainly could have folded. But we hung in there and had some chances to win the game at the end.”

Fulda led 25-12 midway through the first half and started the second half on a 10-2 burst to build a 47-35 cushion. Peterson’s perimeter shooting highlighted both of those positive sequences for the Raiders.

Peterson, who hit six 3-pointers in the game, scored 14 of Fulda’s first 15 points. He dialed in four early shots from behind the arc and also used a ball fake to score on a drive through the lane.

Leading 15-10 with 11 minutes and 50 seconds remaining, the Raiders then scored 10 of the next 12 points to widen the gap to 25-12 by the 9:53 mark. A steal and layup by Aaron Persing, back-to-back 3-pointers from Josh Ramerth and Oakland, and a pair of free throws by Nathan Getting triggered Fulda’s surge.

“We played very well for the first nine minutes of the first half,” Fulda head coach Colby Pack said. “We moved the ball well and knocked down some shots. We then had to fight through a little adversity in the second half, which can be a good thing for a young and inexperienced team like ourselves.”

Adrian gradually closed the margin during the final nine minutes of the first half, as Reyne (13 first-half points) created scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

Polzine, Jake Bullerman-Diekmann (12 points), Brady Lonneman (nine points), Taylor Recker (nine points, nine rebounds) and Theron Miller (nine rebounds) also contributed with scoring production for the Dragons.

Lonneman connected on an 18-footer from the left wing to pull Adrian within two (37-35) to begin the second half, but Fulda answered with 10 consecutive points.

Peterson nailed two 3-pointers, while Oakland supplied a pair of layups — one off a nice pass from Peterson and one off a steal — to put the Raiders up 47-35 at the 13:49 mark.

Reyne and Bullerman-Diekmann, though, netted long-distance shots to help the Dragons cut the margin to three (49-46) with 9:38 left.

Fulda kept the lead and extended it to 58-50 with 4:18 to go on the strength of five straight points by Oakland.

However, Adrian came right back with seven straight points to make it a one-point game (58-57) with 1:19 showing. The Dragons then had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but a steal and ensuing free throw by Holt with 42.1 seconds left put the Raiders up 59-57.

Ruesch, who dished out five assists and scored on a pair of nifty drives in the first half, then came up with a steal on Adrian’s next possession — leading to two free throws by Oakland to make it 61-57 with 16.4 seconds remaining.

Oakland secured Fulda’s win with a defensive rebound and two more free throws with 5.6 seconds to play, as the Raiders opened the year with a four-point victory.

Adrian is back in action today, traveling to take on Russell-Tyler-Ruthton. Fulda is off until Dec. 8 when it visits Wabasso.

Fulda 37 26 — 63

Adrian 33 26 — 59

Fulda (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Schumacher 0-1-0-2, Ramerth 1-0-0-3, Ruesch 0-2-0-4, Holt 0-0-1-1, Persing 0-1-0-2, Getting 0-1-5-7, Peterson 6-3-0-24, Oakland 1-4-9-20. Totals: 8-12-15-63.

Adrian (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Reyne 1-4-10-21, Bullerman-Diekmann 2-2-2-12, Lonneman 1-2-2-9, Polzine 1-1-0-5, Recker 2-1-1-9, Miller 0-1-1-3. Totals: 7-11-16-59.

Tags: sports, girls, basketball, fulda, adrian