GOOD HOPE, Ala. – Coming off a pair of wins over Dora to start out 2025, the Good Hope Raiders returned home on Friday night to take on the Arabian Knights. In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders built a big lead in the fourth quarter and held off a rally by the Lady Knights to win the game 52-46 but in the boys’ game, Arab was able to pull away in the fourth quarter to defeat Good Hope 66-59.
Good Hope 52 – Arab 46 (Varsity Girls)
Ava McSwain got the scoring started for Good Hope with a three from the right corner and a rebound and putback by Jolee McHan gave them an early 5-0 lead. A layup by Sophie Konrad made it 7-4, but Arab scored five straight points to grab a 9-7 lead. McSwain put in a reverse layup to tie the game up at nine, but a pair of Lady Knights free throws gave them an 11-9 lead going into the second.
Lexi Marshall drained a three from the left wing, and McSwain dropped in a floater to give the Lady Raiders the lead right back at 14-11. Another rebound and putback by McHan made it a 16-15 game, but the Lady Knights went on a 7-1 run to grab a 22-17 lead late in the first half. McSwain nailed a short jumper, and Konrad put in a pair from the line to cut it to 22-21 going into the break.
Arab quickly pushed their lead to 26-21 early in the third. That’s when McSwain got red-hot from the field, as she drilled a pair of treys and added a steal and a layup to give Good Hope a 29-28 lead. Lucie Adams banked in a three from the left wing, and McSwain hit one of her own from the right wing to give them a 35-34 lead late in the quarter. Marshall added a late layup to make it a three-point game going into the final period.
The Lady Raiders carried that momentum over into the fourth quarter. McSwain dropped in a floater, then Adams and Marshall each added baskets down low to stretch their lead to 43-36. Marshall buried a trey, then McSwain got fouled while shooting a three and ended up hitting all three free throws to push Good Hope’s lead to double digits at 49-38. The Lady Knights were far from finished, though, as they scored the next seven points to cut it to 49-45. A pair of free throws by McSwain and one by Konrad helped seal the 52-46 win for the Lady Raiders.
McSwain finished with a game-high 28 points for Good Hope (15-4), and Marshall posted 10 points.
Arab 66 – Good Hope 59 (Varsity Boys)
It was tied at 5-5 early on in the opening period, but Arab went on a 9-3 run to take a 14-8 lead late in the first. Tyler Cone drilled a late three to cut it to 14-11 going into the second period.
Cone split his free throws to cut it to 14-12, then Tucker Malin’s rebound and putback tied the game up at 14. That’s when Arab got red-hot from the three-point line, as their four treys helped them build a 28-16 lead. Good Hope, though, responded with a big run of their own. Gavin Pace got things started with a pair of threes, then a basket down low by Tucker Screws cut it to 28-24. Malin scored through a foul and ended up hitting the free throw to make it a one-point game, then Pace’s fourth trey of the first half gave the Raiders a 30-28 lead. Pace later added a free throw to make it a 31-28 game going into the locker room.
Cone put in a pair of floaters to give Good Hope a 35-31 lead early in the third quarter. Malin knocked down a three from the right wing, then he later dropped in a floater to make it a 40-34 lead for the Raiders. A 6-2 run by Arab, though, cut it to 42-40. Malin put in a reverse layup, then he later buried a trey to stretch the Raider lead to 47-40. Another rebound and putback by Malin made it a 49-43 game going into the final quarter.
The Knights started the fourth quarter strong, as they went on an 8-0 run, to grab a 51-49 lead. A floater by Cone tied the game up at 51, then a free throw by Tyler Byrd gave Good Hope a 52-51 lead. Arab scored the next seven points to get the lead right back at 58-52. Screws put in a reverse layup to cut it to 58-54 with a little over two minutes to go in the contest, but a pair of rebounds and putbacks by the Knights helped increase their lead to 63-54. Haynes drained a three to make it a 63-57 game, but another rebound and putback, plus a technical free throw, helped Arab get past Good Hope, 66-59.
Malin led the way for the Raiders (15-4) with 20 points. Pace finished with 15 points, and Cone added 10 points.
Good Hope will head to Susan Moore Monday night.
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