Lamar gives Prep a battle before falling

By By Carver Rayburn / special to the Star
Jan. 8, 2003
The Lamar Raiders held their own for three quarters in hoops action against Jackson Prep Tueday night.
Despite the final score of 66-40 in favor of the visiting Patriots, the Raiders seemed to have a few answers, for a while. The Patriots jumped out to an early lead with a 7-0 run to start the first quarter and never trailed in the game. After a Raider timeout, Lamar seemed to wake up with a three-pointer by guard David Haggard.
Haggard finished the night with 11 points and was 2-of-4 from three-point range. The Raiders cut the lead to six with 3:30 to go in the first half by taking advantage of turnovers by the Patriot offense.
Lamar center Austin Roebuck contributed to the turnover push with four blocked shots on the evening. The Patriots were able to take a 33-22 lead into halftime due to four first half three-pointers by Bob Corkern.
The third quarter proved to be just as close as the first half but a last second, 15-foot jump shot by Corkern of Jackson Prep put the nail in the coffin. Prep carried their momentum into the fourth quarter and the rout was on.
After Lamar's Haggard went down with an apparent leg injury, Prep used a fullcourt press and took advantage of missed free throws by the Raiders shooting to go on an 11-0 run. This run ended any hopes of an upset and Prep finished off the Raiders 66-40.
The Patriots improved to 10-3 on the year while Lamar dropped to an even par record of 6-6.
Jackson Prep girls 55
Lamar girls 12
In girls action, the Lamar Lady Raiders fell hard to a more physical Lady Patriot team 55-12. Jackson Prep used runs of 9-0, 11-0, 8-0 and 6-0 to open each quarter of play respectively.
After taking a 33-9 advantage into halftime, the Lady Patriots came out strong in the third quarter and only allowed Lamar to score three points in the entire second half.
Jackson Prep was lead by sophomore Ruth Schimmel and junior Morgan Brister with 10 points each. Leading the Lady Raiders on the scoreboard was senior Keely Phillips with five points and sophomore Leigh Phillips with three points. The Lady Patriots improved to 18-2 on the season.