Ravens roll to Holiday Invitational title game
By Jones Pope IV
Raleigh, N.C. — Voyager wanted revenge for its first loss of the season. Ravenscroft, on the other hand, wanted a sweep of the Vikings.
It was the Ravens who got want they wanted in the HSOT Holiday Invitational Tournament, defeating Voyager Academy 91-56 in the semifinals of the David West Bracket.
“It’s always difficult playing a team two times in a span of 10 days,” Ravenscroft coach Kevin Billerman said. “They have a very good team that really put on a show (Saturday).”
Ravenscroft defeated the Vikings 85-64 on Dec. 18, and Voyager looked forward to the matchup, hoping to even the season series. The opening quarter of the game was everything you expect in a rematch, with the two teams exchanging blows in the opening eight minutes. Voyager came out aggressive, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before the Ravens tied the game at seven.
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Once Ravenscroft went in front, they never relinquish the lead.
Voyager went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 19 in the second quarter, but the Ravens were able to regain control, taking a 10-point lead, 39-29, into the locker room at halftime. Ravenscroft got a spark heading into intermission when Douglas Elks got a steal and swished in a halfcourt heave at the buzzer. Elks knew it was good when it left his finger tips.
“It felt pretty good,” Elks said about his deep shot. “I just tried to get it off before the time went out.”
They play gave the Ravens a lift before the break.
“We were already pumped up,” forward Ian Dubose said. “They just added onto the fire. We just kept getting excited and bringing our best.”
Jay Huff paced Voyager in the first half with 19 points, but the Vikings didn’t get much from anyone else. The Ravens, meanwhile, had a balanced attack, with six players scoring at least four points.
Billerman said he has an equal opportunity offense, where many guys have a chance to make plays. Five different players scored in double figures led by Dubose with 20. Tyler Williams (19), Michael Okauru (13), Elks (11) and Demarcus Taylor (10) rounded out the scoring for the Ravens.
“We are deep and we’re skilled,” Billerman said. “We’re very balanced.”
The second half didn’t fair much better for Voyager, as Ravenscroft outscored its 1A opponent 52-27.
Voyager coach Mike Huff said his goal was to win the rebounding battle. The Ravens won the battle on the boards 39-28. Huff also felt like his team made the proper adjustments after the last meeting, but the Vikings didn’t have enough firepower to counter the Ravens scoring attack.
Huff finished with 26 points and nine rebounds, the next leading scorer was China Jones with 8.
“The credit goes to them (Ravenscroft). They are very talented,” Huff said. “I thought that we could exploit them a little bit by getting the ball inside today, but we just weren’t able to do that with their defense pushing us out. We weren’t tough enough to get the ball in the right spots. I’m thankful for those kind of games - I’m not happy about it - but I’m thankful.”
The Ravens have a chance to win its third tournament title, something Billerman knows will be big for the program as well as the city of Raleigh.
“You have to understand this is an entirely different group,” Billerman said. “This is for them. It’s their opportunity to show the city of Raleigh who they are. We’re out there in that little corner of North Raleigh and not a lot of people come out to see us. We’re not a 4A school, but we’re pretty daggone good.”
Ravenscroft advances to the David West Bracket title game, which will be played at 6:50 on Wednesday. The Vikings will play in the third place game at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday.
By Jones Pope IV
Raleigh, N.C. — Voyager wanted revenge for its first loss of the season. Ravenscroft, on the other hand, wanted a sweep of the Vikings.
It was the Ravens who got want they wanted in the HSOT Holiday Invitational Tournament, defeating Voyager Academy 91-56 in the semifinals of the David West Bracket.
“It’s always difficult playing a team two times in a span of 10 days,” Ravenscroft coach Kevin Billerman said. “They have a very good team that really put on a show (Saturday).”
Ravenscroft defeated the Vikings 85-64 on Dec. 18, and Voyager looked forward to the matchup, hoping to even the season series. The opening quarter of the game was everything you expect in a rematch, with the two teams exchanging blows in the opening eight minutes. Voyager came out aggressive, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before the Ravens tied the game at seven.
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Once Ravenscroft went in front, they never relinquish the lead.
Voyager went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 19 in the second quarter, but the Ravens were able to regain control, taking a 10-point lead, 39-29, into the locker room at halftime. Ravenscroft got a spark heading into intermission when Douglas Elks got a steal and swished in a halfcourt heave at the buzzer. Elks knew it was good when it left his finger tips.
“It felt pretty good,” Elks said about his deep shot. “I just tried to get it off before the time went out.”
They play gave the Ravens a lift before the break.
“We were already pumped up,” forward Ian Dubose said. “They just added onto the fire. We just kept getting excited and bringing our best.”
Jay Huff paced Voyager in the first half with 19 points, but the Vikings didn’t get much from anyone else. The Ravens, meanwhile, had a balanced attack, with six players scoring at least four points.
Billerman said he has an equal opportunity offense, where many guys have a chance to make plays. Five different players scored in double figures led by Dubose with 20. Tyler Williams (19), Michael Okauru (13), Elks (11) and Demarcus Taylor (10) rounded out the scoring for the Ravens.
“We are deep and we’re skilled,” Billerman said. “We’re very balanced.”
The second half didn’t fair much better for Voyager, as Ravenscroft outscored its 1A opponent 52-27.
Voyager coach Mike Huff said his goal was to win the rebounding battle. The Ravens won the battle on the boards 39-28. Huff also felt like his team made the proper adjustments after the last meeting, but the Vikings didn’t have enough firepower to counter the Ravens scoring attack.
Huff finished with 26 points and nine rebounds, the next leading scorer was China Jones with 8.
“The credit goes to them (Ravenscroft). They are very talented,” Huff said. “I thought that we could exploit them a little bit by getting the ball inside today, but we just weren’t able to do that with their defense pushing us out. We weren’t tough enough to get the ball in the right spots. I’m thankful for those kind of games - I’m not happy about it - but I’m thankful.”
The Ravens have a chance to win its third tournament title, something Billerman knows will be big for the program as well as the city of Raleigh.
“You have to understand this is an entirely different group,” Billerman said. “This is for them. It’s their opportunity to show the city of Raleigh who they are. We’re out there in that little corner of North Raleigh and not a lot of people come out to see us. We’re not a 4A school, but we’re pretty daggone good.”
Ravenscroft advances to the David West Bracket title game, which will be played at 6:50 on Wednesday. The Vikings will play in the third place game at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday.
