The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

After losing the first two games of the season, the Raiders rebounded back to .500 by winning both games last week.

Both were at home in the Grand Coulee gym. Roof repairs continue at Lake Roosevelt's Gailord Nelson Gym.

Lake Roosevelt's game against Bridgeport Dec. 16 was moved to Grand Coulee due to vandalism at Bridgeport.

In that game against the Mustangs, the Raiders took a lead and held on to it, coming away with a 58-22 win, a big boost for the previously 0-2 LR.

"Guys really bounced back and performed well," Head Coach Matt Simpson said. "A home game makes a big difference in a player, and we needed a home game to gain confidence, momentum heading into Christmas break to discover what we can do."

Then on Friday, the Raiders hosted the Manson Trojans, who played with great intensity and stayed in the game early. After one quarter, LR led 23-15.

In the second quarter the Raiders pulled away to build a 15 point lead at halftime, 39-24. Fouls started piling up for LR in the second, but Manson had trouble making their foul shots.

In a rough third quarter both sides tried to draw fouls and started to have heated exchanges.

Manson scored 16 points in the quarter, but LR scored 19 to push the lead to 18 points at the start of the fourth quarter when LR would cruise as Manson floundered. Lake Roosevelt won 69-48.

Chance Garvin led the Raiders with 20 points and three steals against the Trojans. Jackson Louie contributed 13 points. Merle Picard had 10 points for the night. Jacob Palmer scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Austin Rosenbaum and Jesse Louie each scored five points. Taren Redstar scored four points and Bill Nomee put up two.

"We are a deep team," Simpson said. "Our whole squad is really stepping up."

With injuries, the Raiders have had to call on others to step up, and Simpson looks for the team to continue playing up to a higher level.

LR takes the two-game win streak and the momentum that goes with it into practice this week when there are no games due to Christmas.

Chance Garvin lays in two points

Next week, the Raiders will travel to West Valley High School in Spokane Valley to take on the East Valley Knights on Monday at 2 p.m. East Valley (2A) is 3-3 overall with a two-game losing streak coming into the matchup with LR. In those two losses the Knights were outscored by over 30 points. Then on Dec. 30, LR takes on 2B Colfax at 12:30 p.m. Simpson believes the Raiders are up to the challenge.

"We match up well with both teams," Simpson said, "and it'll be a great test to see where we are at and areas of improvement." Simpson is thankful for the opportunity for the Raiders to perform in front of a big stage. "We are excited for this opportunity to be included in one of the biggest area tournaments around," he said.