COURLAND—The Southampton Academy Raiders improved to 2-0 overall on the season and 1-0 in the VCC conference as they dominated the visiting Richmond Christian School Warriors 45-26 last week.

The Raiders started out strong from the get-go as they got out to an early 30-11 halftime lead behind Senior Robert Marks 11 first half points. The Raiders were playing without senior Michael Marks who was out due to an ankle injury. The Raiders shot 82 percent from the free throw line while the Warriors shot 43 percent from the free throw line.

The Raiders started out the game by outscoring the Warriors 16-9 in the opening quarter. The Raiders then outscored the Warriors 14-2 in the second quarter. The Raiders then outscored the Warriors 9-5 in the third quarter. The Warriors finally were able to win a quarter as they outscored the Raiders 10-6 in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders were led by sophomore William Doyle who finished with 17 points. Robert Marks added 11 points, senior Will Hastings finished with 8, Junior Tyler Lass finished with 7 and senior Andrew Edwards finished with 2 points.

“I thought our defensive effort was outstanding,” said head coach Brian Trickler. “Offensively we’re still getting a feel for each other a little bit, but if we can keep working that hard on defense we’ll be OK. We have some guys who have been through this once or twice so not much rattles them. There are tough games right around the corner, so we’ve got to keep getting better, but so far our guys have been very poised when things haven’t gone our way, and that makes things easy from a coaching standpoint.”

The JV Raiders also won their game 41-37 as sophomore Wade Martin hit two free throws with 9 seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Raiders.

The team started its season off Tuesday night with a victory over Ridgecroft. The Raiders were led by Doyle who had 22 points.

“Robert Marks, Tyler Lass, and Michael Marks are all playing their third season on the varsity team,” said Trickler. “Andrew Edwards, Will Hastings and Marshall Dunn are also returnees from last year and Cameron Ray and William Doyle have already had an immediate impact. We obviously lost two great scorers, and you can’t replace players like that. But we have a strong nucleus of guys with lots of varsity basketball experience, and a couple of sophomores who have had an immediate impact.

“Our guys have been working hard, getting better every day, and they’re tough kids who love to compete. So those are some really positive things we’ve got going for us, and I feel very good about this team and how they are approaching the season. I think there are going to be some pretty good teams in our league.”