GOOD HOPE – The Good Hope Raiders played their first home game of the season tonight against the Vinemont Eagles. It was a tale of two halves for Good Hope. After trailing at the half, they corrected their mistakes in the second to pull away from Vinemont and win 59-49 in their home opener.
In the first quarter, Kallen Sharpton started out strong, scoring 11 points, but Vinemont's Garrett Boland had nine. Good Hope led 16-10 at one point in the quarter, but back-to-back threes by Dustin Ford and Boland tied the game at 16. Matt Cofer got fouled attempting a half-court shot, but he made only one of three to give Good Hope a 17-16 lead after one. In the second quarter, Good Hope tried their best to pull away, but they never could, as Vinemont outscored the Raiders 10-7 to take a 26-24 lead. Boland (13) and Corbin Barnett (8) combined for 21 of the 26 Eagle points in the first half.
In the third quarter, Good Hope righted their wrongs and came out firing from behind the 3-point line, hitting five 3s in a quarter that also saw their defense hold Vinemont to just five third- quarter points. Also, Matthew Dixon scored his first varsity basket off a Vinemont turnover. The Raiders took a 41-31 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Raiders nailed three more from behind the arc. Vinemont tried to make a run, but Good Hope was too much in the end, as they went on to win by a 10-point margin.
Sharpton finished with 20 points and three blocks. Mason Moniz finished with 13 points, 11 in the second half. Cofer finished with a double-double: 11 points and 11 rebounds. Isaac McDonald finished with six. Blake Lyle ended up with five. Dixon and Garrett Bagwell each had two as the Raiders improve to 5-0 on the season. Their next contest will be on the first day of the Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament on Tuesday night against Curry at 6:30 p.m.
The leading scorers for Vinemont (0-5) were Boland with 21 points and Barnett with 14.
Good Hope 70, Vinemont 4 (Girls)
The Lady Raiders were on point from the word go, as they cruised to the easy win in their home opener.
They led 18-0 after the first quarter, 38-2 at the half and 55-4 after the third quarter.
Kate Kent finished the game with a career-high and game-high 30 points. Kelly Pickett almost had a double-double with 21 points and nine steals, and Sadie Abbott finished with eight, as six different Raiders scored on the night. They improve to 2-1 on the season.
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