The Davidson Raiders junior boys basketball team got their 2012-2013 season off to a great start last week with a ‘B’ side championship win at the W. W. Brown School season kick-start tournament.
The boys defeated a strong Warman Wolverines club 51-47 in the championship final Dec. 1 before a deafening crowd in Langham that continually rooted for the Davidson side to defeat the W. W. Brown School rival. The game featured exceptionally strong and gritty play by Raiders centre Ben Nykiforuk, shooting guard James Morrison and point guard Huck Rettger as well as an overall great team game against the Wolverines.
Kim Rettger, head coach of the Raiders, said the Warman team is a big 4A school population wise that also includes six club players, so heading into the game he just told his boys to “stay with them” and make the game respectable. He said what transpired next was the “best team game” he’s seen from his boys in three years.
The Raiders rushed out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter thanks to strong defensive play by the whole Davidson squad who each saw regular playing time. The Raiders kept up the urgency pressing the Warman defence as the 10-point lead held past the half and through the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines started chipping away at the Raiders lead eventually going on a run that saw Warman take a three-point advantage heading into the final two and a half minutes.
Rettger said Nykiforuk then made a “tremendous and courageous” drive to the net with a Warman player draped all over him, scored and hit the free throw to tie it back up. The Wolverines came right back with a basket, before Morrison tied it up once again for the Raiders. Huck Rettger hit a two and a free throw after that giving Davidson a three-point lead heading into the last minute.
The Wolverines pressed throwing up threes to try and tie the game up and send it into overtime, but couldn’t find the mesh. Huck would hit another free throw with 0.7 seconds left to give the Raiders a deciding four-point lead.
To read more please see the December 10 print edition of The Davidson Leader.