EVANSVILLE — Southridge played in a couple of close, tight games this weekend, though Saturday's game at Evansville Christian delivered a more favorable outcome for the Raiders (8-8).
They led the Eagles (8-7), 45-44, in a tight game, though an and-one from senior Collin Tooley provided a big bucket, even though he couldn't complete the three-point play. A made free throw from sophomore Noah Wright pushed it to 48-44, while a couple of clutch free throws from sophomore Brock Thacker allowed more breathing room.
Evansville Christian junior Josiah Dunham made a push, but the Raiders got a defensive stop, and turned to senior Mick Uebelhor, who put the game on ice with two at the line, and the Raiders held on, 54-48 - a contrast from the 51-49 loss they suffered the night before at home against Pocket Athletic Conference foe Heritage Hills.
"The fact that we were able to come out with that energy and effort was huge," Raiders coach Tim LaGrange said. "And I think the difference tonight was we landed a couple more punches, and last night, (Heritage Hills) landed one more than us."
Dunham, who is committed to continue his basketball career with the University of Evansville, finished with a game-high 18 points, but the Raiders limited him to five points in the first half, and much of his scoring came at the free throw line, where he was 9-for-13 at the charity stripe.
LaGrange knows how difficult it is to guard him.
"Noah Wright guarded him most of the night, and Noah is an athlete, Noah is competitive and Noah just competed," he said. "Noah also didn't hang his head when he got scored on - you got to go to the next play, especially against a player like that. It wasn't just Noah - we were running guys at him, we were switching off on him and we were trying to give him multiple looks."
But Southridge showcased some scoring, too. Tooley finished with a team-high 15 points, followed by 14 from sophomore Tate Whitehead, while fellow senior Brock Thacker tallied a dozen and Uebelhor totaled 11. LaGrange told The Herald the Raiders have been balanced ever since the holiday tournament they hosted, thought they shot the ball well and praised Tooley for some shots he made from behind the arc - noting how hard he works.
Not everything came out perfect, as the Raiders allowed some offensive rebounds in the first half, and the Eagles also had some takeaways in the third quarter - trimming a 37-28 Southridge lead down to 37-36 off an 8-0 run.
"We gave up four offensive rebounds in the first half, and that hurt us," LaGrange said. "We had some turnovers, but there also, they're half-court trapping us with 6'7, 6'4, 6'4, 6'4 and that kind of length and athleticism is hard to go against - so we're going to have a turnover here and there and especially those guys that are handling the ball the entire game. So, luckily, we were able to make enough plays to get over the top tonight."
Southridge has all week to get ready and practice for the scheduled PAC and county rivalry game Friday at Forest Park, where the Raiders will have to account for some more capable players the Rangers have in juniors Reid Howard and Jace Berg.
"It's a Dubois County rivalry game," LaGrange said. "You throw out records and you throw out what they did against each other in middle school. It'll be a great environment, it'll be a great challenge and should be a great game - and once again, hopefully we can make enough positive plays to get on top."
