Grand Rapids, Mich. -- The Raiders and Lakers have been known to play very tight games in the past few years and Monday night's game was no exception.  In the end the Raiders were victorious 83-70, making it four straight wins and most importantly keeping them two games ahead of Ancilla College and three games in front of Lansing CC for the conference title.  The Raiders are now 19-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play.  The Lakers fall to 13-10 and drop to fourth place in the conference with an 8-6 record.

The first half consisted of five lead changes.  The biggest Raider run that gave them their second lead included four three's in a row by two of the conference's best three point shooters.  William Otole (five three's on the night) tied the game at 20 and on the next possession Sammie Ryans knocked in one of his three three-pointers making it 23-20. Otole then connected on another one with 6:23 left and 19 seconds later he found Ryans for the fourth three in a row, making it 29-22. 

The Lakers ended the first 20 minutes on a 15-6 run, including a go ahead three by Caleb Cooper with four seconds left in the half.  Both teams connected on five three's but the biggest difference was 8 of 9 from the free throw line for GRCC compared to just 0 of 2 for the visitors. 

Both teams traded leads in the opening two minutes of the second half, but an Otole three ball with 17:18 on the clock gave the lead back to the Raiders, 43-40.  The Lakers made many runs down the stretch to try to retake the lead, but the Raiders responded every time hitting clutch shot after clutch shot and in the end outscored Mid Michigan 48-33 in the half to win by 13. 

One of the bright spots for the Raiders was holding one of the leagues best scorers, Jaylen Rutherford to just 8 points (0 in the second half).  Rutherford was second in the league averaging over 22 a game coming into the game. The Raiders also had just 10 turnovers on the night and out rebounded the Lakers 44-36.

Ryans (the league's seventh best scorer) finished with 22 points on 8 of 18 from the field.  Otole also had 22 points, and maybe more impressive, 7 assists and no turnovers.  Ike Kanu played a solid overall game with 18 points on an efficient 6 of 11 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the free throw line.  He also added a game high 16 rebounds.  D'Avery Moore was just one board away from his second double-double with 12 and 9 while Camren Spicer dished out 6 assists and had just one turnover.

The Raiders will be full strength on Wednesday as the travel to Benton Harbor to take on the LMC Red Hawks.  In their first meeting the Raiders made 12 three's (five from Otole) and they beat LMC 84-67.  Tip-off is at 7:30 PM.  You can watch the game live if you go to Lake Michigan College's athletic site and search for the link.

Looking ahead... If the Raiders win two of their final four regular season games they will win a share of the conference title, a feat they haven't accomplished since the 2003-04 season.  If they win three more games, they clinch the outright title and will be the number one seed in this year's NJCAA District 9 Tournament and receive a bye in the first round.

To view the current conference standings as well as league statistical leaders and schedules visit the MCCAA page here.