Box Score Grand Rapids, MI-- The Raiders basketball teams hosted Kalamazoo Valley Community College this past Friday. The men earned a commanding victory by a score of 84-57, and the women came up just short to the powerhouse KVCC women's squad.

The women took the court first at the Hunsberger Arena against a heavily favored KVCC squad. The Cougars were 12-0 heading into the game and ranked 4th in the NJCAA.  Grand Rapids had experienced some early season struggles, but recently began to pull things together. Though KVCC is one of the top teams in the nation, GRCC held their own.

The Raiders struggled to find the bottom of the net in the opening minutes of play, and fell behind early. At one point the Raiders were down by 17, but by the end of the first half they began to get things together. GRCC battled back to within 5 points. At the culmination of the first half GRCC had only made 32% of their field goal attempts while KVCC were making over 50%.

"This was our biggest challenge of the season. We showed a lot of character by not getting down and fighting our way back" said coach Eric Taylor.

The second half of the game saw both teams put forth strong offensive efforts. Both teams posted 40 points as GRCC continued to threaten to take the game. It remained anyones games until the final minute of play when KVCC sunk a couple of baskets to seal the victory. Leading GRCC were Destiney Robinson with 18 points and Hailey Majewski with 16 points.

When the men took the court they appeared to have something to prove. The Raiders were quick to jump on the board, and went on a 15-0 run before KVCC could even get on the board. By the end of the first half the Raiders were dominating play and were up by a score of 53-24.

The second half of play was more of the same. The Raiders continued to dominate play both offensively and defensively as the Cougars began to show their frustration. Refs sent both squads to their benches at one point, and numerous fouls were called on both teams. The Raiders posted another 31 points on their way to an 84-57 victory. The win was their 2nd in conference play and their 2nd straight victory. The team is now 7-5 for the season.

Newly eligible Jared Mysliwiec and teammate Alex Lyle were at the top of their games and scored a team leading 20 and 21 points respectively. T.J. McCutcheon led the defensive charge and posted 6 of the teams 11 steals.

Both teams head to Battle Creek on Wednesday to take on the Kellogg CC Bruins. The women play first at 5:30 and the men follow at 7:30.