Cats scrape past Raiders

In a thrilling clash that showcased basketball at its best and in front of 1500 screaming fans, Geelong was always going to be a huge hurdle for the Raiders to overcome, yet after two hours of what had been a fierce battle, the game went into overtime and the home team scraped through with a 103-99 win.
Up by seven points at quarter-time, the Raiders looked keen to shake the confidence out of the eastern conference leaders, however that lead was quickly chewed up during the middle stages and by the end of the third term the Supercats had clawed their way to a 10-point advantage.
The game looked lost early in the last period as the Raiders fell 17 points behind, but a gritty exhibition in defence, backed up by some stellar shooting from beyond the three-point arc, brought the Raiders storming back to tie the scores.
The ensuing overtime period was fast and furious and, had it not been for Geelong’s effort from the stripe, where they shot 16 of 21 down the stretch, the result may have been different.
Gerard Leonard led the way with 22 points, while Craig Simpson (18 points), Cameron Koford (16 points, 18 rebounds), Glen Siegle (15 points), C.J. Massingale (11 points) and Mehmed Bektas (11 points) all contributed good numbers.
Next up for the third-placed Raiders is another crucial road trip, this time a venture to Bendigo on Saturday night for a showdown with the second-placed Braves.
Meanwhile, Knox’s ladies enjoyed a bye on the weekend and will be fresh ahead of a huge double-header this weekend away from home against Bendigo and Nunawading.