Cal-Mum Boys
Basketball 2007-2008 |
| Cal-Mum Boys
Basketball 2007-2008 |
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Raiders stop Alexander 66 to 52 The Raiders jumped out to a 37 to 22 half time lead against the Alexander Trojans with the help of 14 first half points from Dave Nasradinaj. Nasradinaj hit an assortment of baskets including lay-ups, as well as both mid-range and long-range shots. It looked to be his night as most everything he shot at the basket, went in. His 6-points to end the 1st quarter gave Cal-Mum an 11-point cushion at 22 to 9. He also closed out the 2nd quarter in similar fashion, punctuated by a slicing drive through the Trojan defense for a lay in, just as time expired in the 1st half. The Trojans were trailing by eighteen early in the 3rd quarter and were teetering on being blown out of the game when their long range shooters caught fire. In between the first Alexander 3-pointer and the fifth 3-pointer of the 3rd quarter, the Trojans had virtually wiped out the Raiders’ big lead, trailing by only three points at 46 to 43. Jeremy Wilson’s basket near the end of the 3rd quarter ended a streak of twelve straight points by the Trojan, and started a 13 to 2 run by the Raiders, giving them again a double-digit lead. Cal-Mum would not be threatened again as the Raiders’ defense took over the rest of the game, limiting the Trojans to mostly one shot per each Trojan offensive trip. Following Nasradinaj in scoring was Steve Lauffer with 18 points, with 12 of those points coming on 3-point baskets. Jordan Vokes had a strong game rebounding with 12 and Mike Tomasso helped on the boards with 8 rebounds. Nick Nothnagle registered 5 assists and Lauffer made 4 steals on the night. Zack Leitten was high man for Alexander with 16 points followed by Jacob Quinn with four 3-pointers, good for 12-points.
Alexander Game Photos
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Raiders fall to Letchworth in
OT, 71-70 The game this past Friday night could be described in many ways but boring was not one of them. What else can you say about a game that featured seventeen, 3-point baskets and several questionable calls against both teams. The Raiders had seven 3-pointers alone in their wild 4th quarter rally. It was a shame the rally could not have produced a victory, as several of the overtime shots were halfway down the basket before popping back out. Nick Nothnagle’s play throughout the entire game was key as his slashing drives to the basket produced much needed first half offense for the Raiders. Nothnagle and the always-reliable Steve Lauffer accounted for 20 of the Raiders 29 first half points. The Raiders were to struggle offensively for three-quarters against the Letchworth Indians. There was but 5:20 left in the contest when Indians’ Brent Owens’ second free throw had given Letchworth a commanding 59 to 48 advantage. The Raiders had to find a way to wake up their offense or this game would be over, quickly. Raider coach, Dan Dickens inserted his designated long-range shooter, Jordan Rogers. The move was the right one as Rogers quickly tossed in two, three-point baskets, followed by a two pointer, getting the Raiders quickly back into the contest, at 59 to 56. It was Letchworth’s Coach Tim McMullen’s turn to take a time-out and settle his team down. The timeout work for McMullen as his charges responded with two baskets to push the lead back to eight points at 65 to 57, with only 2:06 left in the game. In a chess match of coaching, it was then Coach Dickens’ turn for timeout call, to focus his team and decide how he was going to attack offensively over the final two minutes. A Steve Lauffer 3-ball followed by another 3-pointer by Jordan Rogers cut the Letchworth lead to two with under a minute to play. A Raider free throw by Dave Nasradinaj was answered by two free throws by Indians’ Brent Owens, putting the Raiders in a three point hole with just 33 ticks left on the game clock. Steve Lauffer would take the pressure shot for the Raiders as he sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with only nine seconds left, to tie the game and send it into overtime. The overtime period was a defensive struggle as both teams played a tough man to man defense. The Raiders found themselves trailing 71 to 70 with :05 left on the clock when Nick Nothnagle’s second free throw attempt just missed the mark. The Raiders, did manage to corral the rebound but on two successive put back attempts, they could not convert, ending the game and sending Letchworth home with the victory. Steve Lauffer would lead the Raiders in scoring with 20 points; Nick Nothnagle was close behind with 17. Brent Owens was a terror against Cal-Mum, scoring 25 points for Letchworth.
Letchworth Game Photos
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Avon beats the Raiders 49 to 46 For the second time this season, the Avon Braves escaped with a three-point victory against the Cal-Mum Raiders. Avon, who controlled the game from the 2nd quarter to mid way through the 4th quarter, had to withstand two late Raider charges. The dagger to the Raiders’ heart came with 0:22 remaining on the clock and Avon clinging to a 47 to 46 lead. Cal-Mum had just put up a tough defensive stand and forced Avon to take a bad shot as time was expiring on the 30 second clock. As luck would have it, the ball bounced off the rim, right to an open Brave, Matt McBride, who put the ball in for an uncontested lay in. The Raiders still had one last chance to tie the game at the end of regulation but the Braves returned the favor, applying the same strong defensive pressure, they forced the Raiders to take a bad shot of their own. Jordan Rogers’ desperation shot was off the mark as the Braves would escape with the hard-earned victory. The Raiders and the Braves would go back and forth through out the 1st quarter. A Dave Nasradinaj bucket closed out the scoring with Cal-Mum holding a slim 9 to 8 lead. For the Raiders in the opening stanza, the most critical play came when forward Jordan Vokes picked up his second foul. The senior was playing strong on the inside against the taller Braves his subsequent substitution eliminated the Raiders’ main inside offensive presence. With Vokes on the bench at the start of the 2nd quarter, Avon would slowly take control of the game. Coach Dan Dickens was forced to reinsert Vokes back into the line up, late in the 2nd quarter in attempt to keep the Braves from extending their lead. The move proved costly when Vokes picked up his 3rd foul with 1:52 before half time. Avon would go on to score the last five points of the half, taking a 28 to 20 advantage to the locker room. The Raiders and the Braves played even basketball through the 3rd quarter, setting up the Raiders’ late game comeback in the last stanza. Trailing 34 to 28, Cal-Mum came roaring back, scoring eight of the next eleven points, and as Jeremy Wilson’s 3-pointer hit the bottom of the net with 5:22 remaining in the game, the Raiders had closed to within 37 to 36. Following an Avon timeout, the Braves settled down and appeared to once again regain control, opening a 44 to 40 lead with only 1:28 left on the clock. The Raiders were desperate and Steve Lauffer was the answer. Lauffer came down the court and coolly tossed in a 3-point basket. No sooner did the Braves rush their next shot when Raiders got the rebound, fed the breaking Lauffer, who again canned the long 3-point shot with 1:04 remaining in the contest. The Raider Fans erupted as the Raiders were again in position to pull off the upset. Unfortunately, the Raiders were not to win the game as McBride’s put back, stopped the momentum and the last second Raider shot was off the mark. Steve Lauffer carried the offensive load for the Raiders as he led all scores with 21 points, Jordan Wilson added 8 points for the Cal-Mum. Matt Phillips led the balanced scoring Braves with 16 points followed by Matt McBride and Dan Banach with 15 and 11 points respectively.
Avon Game Photos
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Cal-Mum capture own
Christmas Tournament Friday night’s Championship match-up had all the makings of a classic high school basketball game. The Oakfield-Alabama Hornets came into the contest undefeated and sporting an 8 and 0 record. The 7-1 Cal-Mum Raiders were playing well but could they compete with the rugged Hornets? The only thing for sure is the crowd would see two good basketball teams really getting after each other. The Hornets jumped on the Raiders early, as they rode Noah Seward’s eight points, all on inside baskets, to a 10 to 4 lead at the mid-point of the 1st quarter. Raider Steve Lauffer’s 3-point basket at the 2:10 mark cut into the deficit but Seward would score two more baskets from in close, to push O-A advantage to 16 to 7. Raiders’ Dave Nasradinaj hoop just before the end of the quarter stopped the O-A run and closed the Hornets’ lead to 16 to 9. The Raiders began to climb their way back into the contest in the 2nd quarter as Jordan Vokes scored two early baskets and Dave Nasradinaj chipped in one more before a Steve Lauffer 2-point basket pulled the Raider to within one point of the Hornets, at 18 to 17. The Hornets would then go on a run of their own as they would score 10 of the next 12 points to once again push their lead back to nine points, at 28 to 19. The Raiders refused to fold as Jordan Rogers and Jordan Vokes scored baskets and with Steve Lauffer tossing in two free throws just before half time, Cal-Mum was once again back in the contest, trailing only 30 to 26. The 2nd half of the contest can only be described as a dogfight, as the teams were never separated by more than five points. The Raiders were scrapping and playing hard at the start of the 3rd quarter. Cal-Mum would finally tie the score at 32 to 32 at the 4:01 mark, on a Jordan Vokes score. After trading several baskets, Dave Nasradinaj would again tie the score at 38 apiece, with 1:36 left in the quarter. The Hornets would once again have a scoring spurt and looked like they would end the 4th quarter with a somewhat comfortable 5-point lead. Raider’s Chris Voos had other ideas as he hit what was probably the biggest shot of the night for Cal-Mum. Voos’ 3-point bomb from the corner as buzzer sounded, exciting both the crowd and his teammates, as the Raiders pulled to within two points of the Hornets, at 45 to 43. The Raiders would finally have their first lead with 5:05 left in the game as Steve Lauffer banged in a long 3-point basket, putting Cal-Mum on top 50 to 49. True to form though, O-A would score the next three points at go up 52 to 50. Steve Lauffer again stood tall as he tossed in his third 3-pointer of the night, giving the lead back to C-M at the 4:05 mark. The next two minutes saw the lead go back and forth. A Jordan Vokes conventional 3-point play with 1:55 to go gave the Raiders a 58 to 56 lead. Single free throws by Jeremy Wilson and Vokes would push the Raider advantage to four points, 60 to 56, the largest Raider lead of the game. O-A’s Brad Riner’s basket with 13.5 seconds to go pulled the hornets to within two points but Raider Jeremy Wilson’s free throw with 10.7 seconds would close out the scoring in the contest. Jordan Vokes was the high man for the Raiders with 16 points. Steve Lauffer who had eight big points in the 4th quarter, finished the game with 15 points. Noah Seward led the Hornets with 22 points followed by Casey Call’s 17 points. The tournament MVP was Cal-Mum’s Jordan Vokes. Marion’s Sal Iannello, Oakfield-Alabama’s Noah Seward and Casey Call, Cal-Mum’s Jordan Rogers and Steve Lauffer joined Vokes on the All-Tournament Team.
Cal-Mum Christmas Tournament
Oakfield-Alabama Hornets 67 –
Marion Black Knights 58 Marion appeared to be the better team in the 1st half against the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets, as Black Knight, Sal Iannello came out of the gate, on fire, scoring 16 of Marion’s 18 opening quarter points. Though Iannello would cool down in the 2nd quarter, Marion still maintained the upper hand over O-A, going into half time holding a 32 to 27 lead. Oakfield-Alabama’s defense began to assert itself in the 3rd quarter by holding Ianello scoreless. Marion meanwhile was forced to go to Jon Leeuwen for its scoring, as his 8 points kept Marion in the game. Offensively in the 3rd quarter, O-A relied on the long ball as John Gerber, Casey Call and Brad Riner all rang up 3-point baskets. With the Hornets holding on to a narrow 44 to 41 lead going into the final quarter, Marion was forced to foul in order to get possession of the ball. O-A responded to the Marion tactic, as the Hornets converted 11 of their 14 free throw attempts in the last quarter, to pull away from the Black Knights John Gerber led the O-A Hornets with 19 points followed by Casey Call and Noah Seward with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Sal Iannello would finish the game with 29 points and Jon Leeuwen added 18 more points to the Black Knight’s scoring column. The Oakfield-Alabama win sets up the Hornets with the host Cal-Mum Raiders, at 8:00 p.m. Friday evening.
Cal-Mum Red Raiders 64 – York
Golden Knights 54 Jordan Rogers came off the bench early and often, as the senior’s five long range baskets stopped several determined Golden Knight runs against the tournament host, Caledonia-Mumford Red Raiders. Raiders’ Coach Dan Dickens’ liberal use of player substitutions throughout the game, as he managed to keep fresh personnel on the floor for the entire contest proved pivotal in the victory. The Raiders came out strong, early in the 3rd quarter and with two Jordan Vokes’ baskets, the Raiders extended their lead to 31 to 25. York refused to fold and fought back, as the Golden Knights would score 10 of the next 13 points to take their last lead of the game at 35 to 34. After relinquishing the lead, Coach Dickens called time out to settle his team down. He responded to the York run with the insertion of five fresh players. The move was the correct one as the Raiders closed out the 3rd quarter with a 12-2 run of their own, extending the Cal-Mum advantage to 44 to 37. Cal-Mum would build a comfortable 15-point lead midway through the 4th quarter as the home team would then coast into this Friday evening’s Championship game against Oakfield-Alabama. Raiders were led offensively by Jordan Rogers and Jordan Vokes, each with 15 points. Steve Lauffer finished with 12 points, including four big free throws, to close out any Golden Knight upset bid. York was led on offense by Shawn Monterone’s 16 points and Victor Messana’s 13 points. York will play Marion in the consolation game at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening.
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