Raymond Central (Home)--January 15, 2008

Wahoo    55
Raymond Central    59
A huge second half comeback by the Wahoo Warriors fell just short on Tuesday night as they lost at home to the Raymond Central Mustangs 59-55. The Warriors cut a 21-point second half deficit to 3 in the final seconds, but was not quite enough.
Central jumped on Wahoo early and led 19-8 after one quarter behind 8 Nate Bloch points.
The Mustang lead stretched to 17 in the second quarter at 31-14 before a Grant Anderson trey cut the lead to 31-17 at halftime.
In the third quarter, following another Bloch trey, Central had its largest lead of the game at 21, 39-18. Field goals from Anderson and Austin Watton allowed Wahoo to cut the lead to 14, 47-33 after three quarters.
The Warriors slowly chipped away at the Mustang lead in the fourth quarter. An Anderson basket got the lead under 10, at 51-42, since early in the game. The Mustangs still led by 9, 57-48, with 34 seconds left. An Anderson 3-point play made it 57-51 with 25 seconds left. An Alex Holley free throw made it 58-51. An Austin Watton bucket with 13 seconds left, made it 58-53. A steal and Anderson lay up made it 58-55 with 8 seconds left. The Warriors were unable to get a steal on the inbounds, and had to foul the Mustangs’ Alex Holley with 4 seconds left. Holley made 1 of 2 free throws to seal the win for Central, 59-55.
"I am extremely proud of the effort and the character our kids showed in cutting a 21-point lead to 3, and giving us a chance at the end. Our kids did not quit, and showed a lot of heart. However, we have to play with that kind of effort and intensity for 32 minutes, not just 16," said Coach Kevin Scheef.
"I thought Grant Anderson had a tremendous game for us," Scheef added.
Anderson scored 24 points and had 8 rebounds, while going against Central's 6'7” center Jason Thalken. Austin Watton added 15 points and 4 assists, and Taylor Murren added 10 points and 6 steals. Layne Moore contributed 6 boards and 5 assists.
The Warriors were hurt by cold shooting from behind the arc, as they made just 4-18 (22%) three-point shots.
Raymond Central improves to 8-3, while the Warriors fall to 7-4. Wahoo travels to Norfolk Catholic on Friday, and then has a rematch with Raymond Central in the first round of the Conference Tournament on Tuesday.