Ethan Haas scored the last of his eight points with an assist by Henry Quayle with eight seconds left to seal the Sooners’ 26-23 win over the Red Raiders in a fifth grade matchup featuring the league’s two undefeated teams on Saturday.
Forward Brendan Corcoran and point guard Patsindrick Paul also had eight points apiece for the balanced Sooner attack, and Tommy Lasagne added two points. Carter George and Corcoran paced the undermanned Sooners inside, each grabbing rebounds at key moments.
Point guard Chris Bergwell was efficient in directing the Red Raider offense, scoring a game-high 10 points. Liam McGlaughlin scored four points and Chris Tortorella was tough inside for the Red Raiders. Luke Sini and Marc Belak took down some great rebounds for the Raiders with excellent positioning inside.
The game was tied at the half 12-12 and tight throughout until the Sooners built a six-point advantage on Paul’s layup to open the fourth quarter. However, the Raiders came roaring back on a 5-0 run on baskets by Tortorella and Bergwell and a free throw by Ryan Patrick, whose stellar defense and scrappy play, coupled with that of Dimitri Papaeconomou and Edmund Steeves caused several turnovers and disrupted the Sooner offensive sets, setting up the run and tight finish.
