Defense has been the name of the game for the Central High School Red Raider basketball team over their past two outings. And, it’s no coincidence, they have won them both.
The CHS Red Raiders took their defensive show on the road Friday night and their free-throw shooting, too, sinking 22-of-26 free throws (85%) to beat the Lincoln County Falcons 64-49 in Fayetteville.
The win puts the Raiders over .500 in district play and overall. The Raiders are now 7-6 with a 3-2 district record.
The Raiders led 22-19 at the half and finally started to create some distance late in the third quarter. After the game was tied 30-30, the Raiders took off on a 14-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Connor Shemwell to give the Raiders a 39-30 lead after three quarters. Shemwell finished with 8 points for the Raiders.
Raider senior Trenton Scrivnor gave the Falcons fits with his size and athleticism inside, scoring 14 points off the bench for Coffee County. Senior Kyle Farless finished with 12 points, Jaxon Vaughn 10, CJ Anthony 8, Brady Nugent 5, Tyler Taylor 4 and Hayden Hullett 2. Hullett also sacrificed his body, drawing a pair of charges on defense.
The Raiders will host Tullahoma Tuesday, Jan. 19 at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium. Girls game tips at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow at approximately 7:30. You can listen to both games live on Thunder Radio: 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com
