Lake Roosevelt runs away from Warden

Lake Roosevelt 80, Warden 64

WARDEN — The Cougars hung with Lake Roosevelt early, but faded as the game progressed, eventually falling to the Raiders 80-64 in a non-league contest Tuesday.

The game was a shoot out from the early going, with Warden's Alex Rosas and Chris Felsman matching the Lake Roosevelt offense shot for shot for most of the first quarter. Felsman opened the game with a 3-pointer that gave Warden an early lead.

Late in the first period, Rosas hit a pair of back-to-back jumpers from just inside the 3-point line that kept Warden in front of the visiting Raiders. Rosas had 16 points on the night, while Felsman led Warden with 17 points.

With the Cougars trailing 20-16 and less than a minute to play in the quarter, Chance Buck drove to the basket and kicked the ball out to Felsman, who was open on the right wing. The Warden senior drained the 3-point shot to bring the Cougars to within one as time wound down in the first quarter, but Lake Roosevelt hit a 3-pointer of their own with less than 10 seconds to play in the quarter that gave the Raiders a 23-19 lead at the buzzer.

While Warden was able to run-and-gun with the Raiders in the early going, it was a pace of play the Cougars could not keep up throughout the game. Lake Roosevelt put together 20-7 run over the final four minutes of the first half to take control of the game and go to the locker room with a 48-33 lead.

After the halftime break, Warden played with Lake Roosevelt for much of the third quarter, but the Raiders went on a 10-0 run in the final 2:30 of the quarter that put the game out of reach.

"We allowed them to dictate the pace of the game," said Warden coach Wes Richins of the high scoring nature of the contest. "We need to conserve our energy … I think they wore us down."

Fatigue, combined with some great shooting by the Raiders, made it a difficult night for the Warden defense. Early in the game, when Warden focused their defensive efforts on stopping the Lake Roosevelt inside attack, the Raiders kicked the ball outside and hit several wide-open 3-point baskets. The Raiders hit 12 shots from beyond the arc Tuesday night.

"They shot really well tonight," said Richins. "We were keying on the big guys early on, and they spread us out by hitting the long threes."

As the game progressed and the Warden defense tired, Lake Roosevelt was able to attack from inside. During the second half, most of the Raiders' baskets came off fast-break layups or second-chance opportunities created by offensive rebounds.

Despite the tough night, Richins is confident his team has what it takes to put together a successful season. "One thing I'm proud of these kids, there's no quit in them," said Richins of his players. "These guys are playing hard for me."

"We just need to get them working collectively, and we'll be fine," added the Warden coach.