It was a good run, but the Atholton Raiders unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 64-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of Long Reach. While losing is never fun, Atholton can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while Long Reach is ranked 27th).
Loss or not, Atholton got some senior leadership from Amir Shaheed who scored 17 points and Deion Dent who scored 13 points along with five assists. The matchup was Shaheed's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Inabinet, who scored six points.
Jayden Saunders continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Long Reach, scoring 28 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. The game was Saunders' 11th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Junior Nunez, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Atholton bumped their record down to 5-5 with that loss, which was their fourth straight at home. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Long Reach, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 10-1.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Atholton will take on Parkville at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Parkville knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past five contests -- so hopefully Atholton likes a good challenge. As for Long Reach, they will be playing at home against Oakland Mills at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
