The Raiders decisively beat the Manson Trojans on Saturday in Coulee Dam in the first game of the basketball season.

Manson led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, when the Raiders switched from a man-to-man to a zone defense.

The Raiders took the lead, scoring 25 points in the second quarter to Manson's 11, and led 37-25 at halftime.

"We started pushing the pace," said Head Coach Jeremy Crollard. "We have speed, we have athleticism, we have shooters, so we have to push the pace against these teams to get it to our advantage."

Sam Wapato makes a jump shot despite aggressive defense. - Jacob Wagner photos

The Raiders' momentum continued, holding Manson to only 13 points in the second half, while scoring 26 themselves for a final score of 63-38.

"You always want that first game win," Crollard said. "We have to keep working on the fundamentals and our man-to-man defense. We'll get those sured up."

Crollard noted Sam Wapato and Soarin' Marchand in particular as having had great performances.

"For Soarin' to come off the bench and be ready when I called his name was huge for us," Crollard said. "He's a very skilled player. Tonight he did a good job running the offense and getting us into that pace."

The Raiders played last night in Bridgeport, results of which will be reported in next week's Star.

They play on Friday, Dec. 7, in Soap Lake at 7:30 p.m.

They will next play at home in Coulee Dam on Tuesday, Dec. 11, against Oroville, also at 7:30 p.m.