Fulda vs. Worthington
The Fulda Raiders traveled down Highway 59 for a matchup with the Worthington Trojans right before Christmas Break on December 21st. The Raiders fell to the Trojans 92-64 – moving them to 4-3 on the season.
The Raiders had four players score in double figures led by Dalton Slinger with 14 points. Leighton Gehl added 11, while Matthias Kunerth and Zach Thier each scored 10.
Right from the opening tip, the Trojans used their height and strength on the inside to jump out to an early lead. The Raiders struggled on containing their post players and getting rebounds, but after a quick timeout, the Raiders started to find their rhythm. Three point baskets by Slinger, Thier, and Cory Renneke closed the gap between the two teams. Worthington made one more push to extend the lead to 19 points before Gehl attacked the basket for 2 points and Slinger nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring the Trojans lead to 47-33 at halftime.
The second half brought similar problems for the Raiders, as once again the size of the Trojans’ posts. While the Trojans’ offense was in full effect, the Raiders struggled to find any consistency. A couple more 3-pointers from Slinger and Renneke, as well as layups from Payton Marquardt and Sam Cheadle closed out the game for the Raiders, bringing the final score to 92-64 in Worthington’s favor.
LEADING SCORERS
Slinger – 14
Gehl – 11
Kunerth – 10
Thier – 10
Renneke – 8
LEADING REBOUNDERS
Kunerth – 8
Slinger – 6
Thier – 6
Gehl – 4
Renneke – 3
Fulda vs. Adrian
The Raider boys had one game over Christmas Break. They traveled over to Adrian for a non-conference matchup against the Dragons. A back and forth game of runs went to Fulda, as they claimed their first road victory of the season with a 79-66 win.
Matthias Kunerth led the way for the Raiders with 31 points and 20 rebounds. Dalton Slinger added 25 points (6 3-Pointers) and 4 rebounds. Tyler Madison added 10 points and 3 assists.
Adrian jumped out to a quick 8-0 start, moving the ball around and pushing in transition, causing the Raiders some trouble. The Raiders got onto the scoreboard on a Dalton Slinger drive to the basket, but then the Dragons went on another small run of their own pushing the Raider deficit to 14-2. The Raider offense found themselves and went to work, slowly chipping away at the Dragon lead. Slinger knocked down 2 3-pointers, Payton Marquardt turned a steal into a transition layup and Tyler Madison knocked down a 3 pointer. But then the offense turned to Matthias Kunerth, who went to work scoring 16 points in the first half. Knocking down 4 3-pointers himself and attacking the offensive glass for putbacks, Kunerth helped spark a run to bring the Raiders back to a tie at 33-33 at halftime.
The start of the second half was a little similar to the start of the game with Adrian coming out strong and building their lead back up to 8. The Raiders once again had work to do. Using the hot hand of Slinger (4 3’s) and their ability to get to the free throw line, they Raiders battled back into the game. With 9 minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders trailed by just 3 points. Cory Renneke and Slinger each hit a 3 pointer to give the Raiders their first lead all game. But the Dragons weren’t done yet, they came down the court and answered with a 3 of their own and converted on an and-one take. The Raiders didn’t panic, they came down and executed on the offensive end, finding Tyler Madison under the hoop for their own and-one. The Raiders defense turned it up a notch and started getting consecutive stops, which then led to some fast break opportunities for Madison and Zach Thier. The Dragons came down and hit a 3 with just under 5 minutes remaining to pull within 1, but the Raiders offense was still clicking. Fulda worked the ball around looking for the best shot, finding Slinger in the corner for 3 and Kunerth under the basket. Then it became a game of free throws, with the Raiders knocking down 13 of 15 in the second half to seal the game and giving the Raiders their first road win of the season 79-66. This moved the Raiders to 5-3 on the season.
The Raiders next game will be Tuesday night at home when they host WWG. They also play host to SWC on Friday night.
LEADING SCORERS
Kunerth – 31
Slinger – 25
Madison – 10
Thier – 4
Renneke – 3
LEADING REBOUNDERS
Kunerth – 20
Gehl – 5
Madison – 5
Slinger – 4
L. Spittle – 3
