Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Homecoming week ended on a great note, as William Otole (Grand Rapids, MI) and the Raiders beat the visiting Red Hawks of LMC 84-67. Otole's 21 points tied a season high that he had twice back in November.  With the win the Raiders stay a top the MCCAA-West with a 12-5 (5-1) record.  The loss drops the Red Hawks to 3-14 and 1-5 in the conference.

The sharp shooting Raiders, who connected on only 37% from the field and 11 of 40 from behind the arc in their last game, came out the gate to hit on 9 of their first 10 shots.  After Sammie Ryans (Kentwood, MI) 8th point of the ball game just 5:40 into the game, the Raiders already had a 22-11 lead. A three pointer by LMC with 6:28 left in the first half cut the lead down to 9, but that was the last time the Red Hawks would trail by only single digits.

Five straight points by Otole to end the first half gave the Raiders a 49-28 lead going into the break.  Otole, who finished the game 8 of the 11 from the floor and 5 of 6 from behind the arc, had a game high 13 points in the half.  The Raiders shot 47% from the field (9 of 18 from three point range) and had just 4 turnovers.  LMC was limited to 30% overall despite making 41% of their three point tries.

The Raiders (who led by as many as 24) got a very balanced attack from all eleven players in the second half with seven different players scoring and nine different players grabbing at least one rebound.  Freshman post, D'Avery Moore (Kentwood, MI), was suburb off the bench in his first game back since December 21st, scoring 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 3 from deep in just 11 minutes of action.

Sophomore, Ike Kanu (Grand Rapids, MI), had another dominating performance for GR with 10 points and a game high 14 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end.  One of the region's top rebounders, now has 10 double-doubles on the season.  Ryans, the Raiders leading scorer at 18.5 a game, finished with 17 points and three 3's, giving him 52 for the year.  David Hearns (Hazel Park, MI) finished with 16 points and 6 assists, marking it the 7th time he has had at least 10 points and 5 assists in a game.

The first place Raiders, winners of 7 of their last 8, will look to stay atop the conference as they take on 2nd place Ancilla College next Wednesday in Indiana.  The Chargers are 10-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference with one more game before Wednesday as they take on Jackson College on Sunday. The Raiders won their last two against Ancilla, one at home when Ancilla was ranked #1 in the nation, and the last in the District Championship that sent the Raiders to Nationals.