MCS Trojans outshoot Raiders

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 14, 2005

Raindrops fell from the Meadowview Christian School gymnasium roof Thursday night, but baskets dropped even more frequently at the Trojans’ end of the court.

The Trojans went on a 24-1 run in the second quarter and cruised to a 69-45 victory over

the South Montgomery County Academy Raiders. The victory improved MCS to 10-8 on the season.

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Four players scored in double figures for the Trojans, who were led by Derek Lassiter with 23 points. Chris Sewell and Cody Smitherman followed with 19 and 12 points, respectively. Aaron Raines had a triple-double with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.

“In our last two games, we’ve been playing like we did the first part of the season – as a team,” MCS coach Rick Raines said. “Chris ran the floor really well and he made his shots tonight.”

The Trojans mixed a sharpshooting perimeter game with a strong inside presence by Aaron Raines. MCS sank five 3-pointers, including two by Sewell and three from Dustin Lee.

Raines credited his son’s passing for the open shots MCS had against the Raiders’ defense.

“Aaron doesn’t get a lot of points,” he said, “but he does the passing game for me. It takes someone outside who can feed the ball inside.”

Sewell agreed.

“It’s hard to stop Aaron,” Sewell said of his longtime teammate. “When he’s making those passes, it’s hard to stop us.

“When we get hot on the floor, we get hot,” Sewell added. “You’d better be ready on defense.”

Jacob Halse’s lay-up with 2:38 remaining in the first period kept the Raiders just a point behind at 15-14.

It also was the last basket SMCA would see for more than eight minutes.

The Trojans went on a shooting spree in the second quarter, hitting just about every shot they took. Lassiter out-leaped an SMCA defender for a 12-footer from the right baseline to start a three-point and extend the MCS lead to 21-14.

After an SMCA free throw, Lassiter followed that with another spectacular play, slipping between two defenders for a leaner to begin another three-point play that made it a 28-15 lead.

Lee drained a three-pointer from the right wing as the Trojans opened a 37-15 advantage. Lassiter capped the run when he took a cross-court pass from Aaron Raines and ran past two defenders for a baseline lay-up and a 39-15 lead.

“When we have four guys scoring in double figures,” Rick Raines said, “we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Along with his solid passing, Raines got more into the scoring column in the fourth period with three running lay-ups, the final one stretching the Trojans’ lead to 53-26.

Meanwhile, Sewell continued his attack in the paint. Sewell fielded a pass from Raines and weaved through the SMCA defense for a left-handed lay-up and a 64-29 lead.

The Trojans will host Autauga tonight beginning at 4 p.m.