Raiders can’t close out Defenders

CMB senior Dan Samson (center) passes to an open teammate on the baseline Friday during the Raiders’ 80-63 loss to Grandview Park Baptist. The game was tied at 61 before the Defenders finished the game on a 19-2 run. Samson finished with a double-double in the loss. Troy Hyde/Daily News

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ANKENY — The Raider boys struggled with their start and then struggled even more with their finish Friday against Grandview Park Baptist. Everything else in between was pretty good. Unfortunately, two many fouls and too many missed free throws led to another loss for CMB as the Defenders hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 2:23 and turned a tight game into an 80-63 final at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. “We didn’t start well and we didn’t finish, but in between, we played some pretty good basketball,” first-year CMB coach Mark McKenna said. “We played hard, but we have to learn to play smarter.” The game was much closer than the final score indicated. The game was tied at 61 with 3:38 to play in the game. And the Raiders rallied from 10 points down two different stetches in the game. In the end, 63 fouls were called on both teams and three technicals were handed out. “One of the differences in the game was the fact that they made their free throws and we struggled to hit ours,” said McKenna after his team made just 17-of-37 from the charity stripe in the game. The foul situation definitely hurt CMB, which dropped to 1-7 after the loss. Michael Gander fouled out in the third quarter, while Dan Samson, Ethan Schmidt and Jordan West all entered the fourth quarter with four personal fouls. “It’s tough to be aggressive on defense when you have four fouls,” McKenna said. “It definitely hurt us.” The Raiders trailed 13-5 early in the game before rallying back in the second period. A Dylan Hansen 3 followed by consecutive buckets by Seth Robinett made it 21-18, and Chris Ross’ pull-up eventually cut the deficit to just two. CMB trailed by nine at the break and a technical foul was the big reason why. The Defenders took advantage at the line with four straight freebies and the technical allowed Grandview Park Baptist (2-5) to turn a four-point game into nine at the break. But CMB wasn’t done yet. The Raiders scored the first seven points of the third quarter and a West triple later tied the game at 37. The game would again by tied at 39 before another West 3-pointer gave CMB its first lead of the game. The game went back and forth during the remainder of the third as Grandview Park Baptist led by one heading into the final frame. “We want to play like we did in the second and third quarters all the time,” McKenna said. “We want to push the ball up the floor and crash the offensive glass. We just need to have that intensity all the time.” The game continued to go back and forth during the early stages of the fourth quarter. Another triple by West gave the Raiders a three-point advantage midway through the period. Then West picked up his fifth foul and the Defenders finished strong. They scored 19 straight points — 11 from the line — and cruised to their second win of the season. Notes: CMB was called for two technical fouls but one was questionable. Hansen reacted to getting the ball thrown at him by tapping the ball back to the GVPB player and was whistled for a technical on the play. The other CMB technical was called on West, while the Grandview Park Baptist bench also received one. ... McKenna said Robinett has been solid all year long but had his best game of the season Friday. He scored 11 points but often found open guys on drives to the basket and also was active on the boards. ... West led the Raiders with 14 points as he canned four 3-pointers. Hansen added 11 points, while Samson and Chris Ross each scored 10. Samson had a double-double on the night as he also was active on the boards. ... John Eisenlauer led all scorers with 24 points. Reed Mells added 20 points in his first-ever varsity game with the Defenders. Mells transferred from Des Moines Roosevelt but had to sit out the required 90 days before playing this year. He was the difference maker in the game for Grandview Park Baptist.

Grandview Park Baptist 80, Collins-Maxwell-Baxter 63 Scoring by quarters CMB 11 15 24 13 — 63 GVPB 19 16 16 29 — 80 CMB individual statistics Seth Robinett 5 1-8 11. Trevor Sharp 1 1-2 3. Dylan Hansen 3 3-4 11. Dan Samson 4 2-4 10. Jordan West 4 2-4 14. Chris Ross 3 4-8 10. Michael Gander 1 2-4 4. Totals 20 17-37 63. Three-point field goals: West 4, Hansen 2.