The Raiders concluded Rivalry Week at The Raider Dome on Friday night as they hosted Jackson Prep in The Raider Dome. The JV matchup featured a rematch of an earlier meeting which JA won in Flowood 29-24 so a low scoring game was expected. The two teams combined for just a few more points in this matchup that saw neither team lead by more than 4 in the first half as JA led 17-14 at the halftime break thanks to a 7-2 run to end the half. In the second half the Raiders held a 20-15 lead before Prep went on a 19-5 run to take a 34-25 lead with just over 2 minutes remaining. JA scored the next five points to close the gap to 34-30 but multiple opportunities at the three point line missed the mark as Prep held on for the win 36-30. The loss was the second in a row for JA and dropped their overall record to 14-4 and 4-2 in conference play.

The Varsity Raiders met up with the Patriots for their first meeting of the season and the two teams did not disappoint the 1,000 fans in attendance. The first quarter ended with a Cam Brent basket to give the Patriots a 10-8 lead. JA began the second quarter with a 9-0 run, which wound up being the biggest run of the game, to give the Raiders a seven point lead. Prep would respond with a 10-4 run to close the gap to 21-20 in favor of JA before Henry Lee hit a three to close the half and give JA a 24-20 lead at the break.

In the third quarter the two teams combined to score 34 points as Prep trimmed the lead to two, thanks to a buzzer beating three pointer by Andrew Purvis. Prep trimmed the deficit to one again on a Lampton Moore three pointer halfway through the fourth before Nick Bryan and Brendan Gibson scored five straight to push the lead back to six just one minute later. The Raiders held off the Patriots in a 49-47 victory to move their overall record to 17-8 overall and their conference mark to 3-2. JA will host Copiah on Tuesday before traveling to Hattiesburg to play PCS on Friday.

University Heart Players with The Most Heart
Brendan Gibson - the junior scored 8 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 FT), with 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 16 minutes of action.
Graham Stevens - the sophomore scored 4 points (0-2 FG, 4-4 FT), with 7 rebounds, and 1 steal in 24 minutes of play.

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