Coffee County battled early foul trouble and first-game shakiness Tuesday night in a 70-59 road loss to the Blue Devils of Jackson County.
In a game you heard on Thunder Radio, the Raiders struggled from behind the three-point line and the Blue Devils didn’t. Jackson County shot 40% from behind the arc, most of that damage coming from senior Eli Burris who piled up 23 points on the Raiders.
Meanwhile, Coffee County was only 22% from behind the arc on 27 attempts. The Blue Devils were also able to outrebound the Raiders on the defensive glass 23-14. For the deficiencies, one of the biggest for the Raiders was at the free-throw line. Coffee County was only 9-of-17 at the stripe, while the Blue Devils were 22-of-27.
The Raiders scrapped and turned a 9-point halftime deficit and a 12-point deficit midway through the third quarter into a 50-45 game going into the final quarter.
Senior Kyle Farless heated up and scored 12 of his 13 points in the third quarter, including a pair of three pointers to breathe life into the Raider offense. The Raiders couldn’t pull any closer than 5-points down the stretch.
Farless led the Raiders with 13 points. He also had 2 assists and 4 rebounds. He was named the Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.
CJ Anthony was limited due to foul trouble most of the night, but still managed to pick up 12 points for the Raiders.
Also scoring for Coffee County were Jaxon Vaughn with 11, Hayden Hullett 7, Brady Nugent 5, Connor Shemwell 5, Trenton Scrivnor 4 and Tyler Taylor 2.
The Raiders play again Saturday at 6 p.m. when they travel to Cannon County. That game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio (107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app, thunder1320.com)
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