Raiders honor seniors, alumni

Despite the outcomes of their games, the Habersham Central High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams had a lot to celebrate Friday night as they honored senior players and former alumni as part of Senior Night and 50 Years of Habersham Central festivities. 

“It was an unbelievable crowd,” said coach Cody Anderson on the packed gymnasium of fans who turned out to see the teams in action. “It was just a fun night celebrating 50 years of Habersham basketball and also a terrific group of seniors who have done so much.”

The Raiders welcomed the visiting Winder-Barrow High School Bulldoggs, who won both games; the Lady Bulldoggs won 50-37, while the Bulldoggs captured a 58-45 victory.

Between games, senior members of both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, as well as the basketball cheerleaders, were honored. During the introduction of the seniors and their families, HCHS alumni – some from as far back as the school’s inaugural year – joined the seniors on the court.

Winder-Barrow 50, Lady Raiders 37

The Lady Raiders (11-11) were plagued by a slow start that proved too much to overcome as they fell to the Winder-Barrow Lady Bulldoggs (14-9) 50-37 Friday.

“We had to hit some shots early and we didn’t,” coach Bill Bradley said. “That has us playing catch-up the whole game.”

Bradley said the early double-digit lead boosted the confidence of the Lady Bulldoggs, who turned a 15-6 first-quarter lead into a 31-19 advantage at halftime. Winder-Barrow outscored the Lady Raiders 17-11 in the third quarter, but things got interesting in the fourth quarter.

“We continued to compete – our kids do compete,” Bradley said.

The Lady Raiders got the deficit down to 10 in the final minutes of the game and had momentum, but were unable to complete their comeback attempt and fell by 13.

“They competed all year long, regardless of the scoreboard,” Bradley said. “I feel like there hasn’t been a game or a time where we didn’t compete. At times, we’re very knowledgable about what we want to do and we compete as a well-oiled machine. Sometimes, we compete individually, but I’ve never questioned our competitive nature.”

The Lady Raiders never slacked off on their effort – they simply had a tough night shooting.

“They hit shots early and shot better this time than they did last time we played them, and quite frankly, we just missed some layups and shots and just didn’t shoot it very well,” Bradley said.

The Lady Raiders relied too much on 3-point shooting and shot 6-of-24, whereas the Lady Bulldoggs were able to get the basketball to their bigs in the paint and dominate, Bradley added.

“They got bigs inside and so you go in and you’re not getting many fouls called, they’re just letting them play,” he said. “They’re big, strong and athletic. We’ve got to make some outside shots and didn’t.”

Winder-Barrow ran their zone-defense and forced the Lady Raiders to shoot to beat it, but the shots just didn’t fall.

“It took us a while to settle down and figure out what we wanted to do against it,” Bradley said. “It was just too little, too late. We got some quality shots, we just didn’t make them.”

Nykerriah Brown led the Lady Raiders with 16 points, adding two rebounds and two deflections; Addie Penick finished with 11 points, two rebounds, four assists, three deflections and three steals; Taylor Wade finished with eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals; and Elizabeth Pollitt finished with two points and three rebounds.

Camden Tench, the lone senior for the Lady Raiders, made her mark on defense, Bradley said.

“She’s a defender and we used her some in the first quarter,” he said. “What we know when we put Camden on the floor is she’s going to get after it every time. She’s going to get after it and mix it up – she’s not afraid of anything. Every day in practice, she’s getting after it and that’s making others better.”

With the loss to Winder-Barrow behind them, the Lady Raiders have turned their focus to their final two regular season games, which Bradley said are “practice games” for the postseason tournament.

“That’s ultimately what the message is,” he said. “Then the real stuff happens.”

The Lady Raiders traveled to Dacula Tuesday for a tilt with Dacula High School and will travel to Winder Friday for their regular-season finale against Apalachee High School. The final two games will determine the Lady Raiders’ seeding for the region tournament, which will take place next week at Gainesville High School.

“That’s when it’s serious time,” Bradley said. “Win and keep playing, lose and you’re done for the season. You want to play as long as you can to get the fruits of your labor.”

Winder-Barrow 58, Raiders 45

The Habersham Central Raiders (7-16) fell to the Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs 58-45 on their home court Friday night in a tough region bout.

“We played really, really well, particularly in the first half,” Anderson said. “We had a scoring drought in the third quarter, which has been an achilles heel for us all season.”

The most important thing, Anderson said, is the Raiders continued to show improvement.

“We just keep getting better and I’m extremely pleased with the progress that we’ve had,” he said. “This isn’t going to be an overnight success, so for us to do those things … was good.”

Anderson was also glad to celebrate the high school careers of the five senior members of the team: Eric Ramirez, Jeb Barnette, Micah Ward, Grayson Adams and Jace Reeder.

“Anytime you get a chance to honor them in a public way is special for me,” he said. “It’s my first group of seniors and I was excited to do that.”

The senior Raiders’ contributions reach farther than just on the court, Anderson said.

“They bought into a rookie head coach that hadn’t proven anything and really laid a leadership foundation for us that’s been crucial,” he said. “Not just because of the success that we’ve had on the floor, but also to the success of what we’re trying to build. They deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Anderson said one of the reasons he took the job as head coach was because of the five seniors coming back to play this season.

“They’ve gone through so much … and had a different coach every year,” he said. “After a couple, I think you start to say, ‘Do I really have to buy in?’ Anytime there’s a new system and new coach, you have those talks of, ‘It’s not going to happen overnight and it’s going to take time.’ That can be discouraging to a senior, because more than likely, you’re not going to experience firsthand the harvest of the fruit that we’re sewing. I think that says a lot about their character and way they’ve been raised.”

Anderson added he’ll never forget this group of guys.

“I’m just so proud of them,” he said. “I’ll forever be their coach.”

With two regular season games remaining following Friday’s loss, the Raiders are putting their focus on finishing the regular season with a bang.

“We have one more week where we can go out and try to get two more wins,” Anderson said. 

After playing Dacula High School Tuesday night in Dacula, the Raiders will travel to Winder Friday for a tilt with Apalachee High School. The plan in both games is to continue to attack and get better.

“We’re also playing for seeding,” Anderson said. “These games matter and mean something. We’ve got to continue playing our best basketball. So far, we’re on that trajectory, but we’ve got to close the deal.”

Results from Tuesday’s games against Dacula were unknown by The Northeast Georgian’s press deadline, but will be in the Weekend edition of The Northeast Georgian.