COVINGTON — A late surge proved decisive Monday night as the Russia Raiders caught fire over the final four minutes, erasing an eight-point deficit to knock off the Arcanum Trojans 51-45 in the opening round of the Buccaneer Holiday Classic at Covington.
“It got away from us late,” said Arcanum coach Kevin Brackman. “They hit big shots.”
Brackman also credited Russia head coach Devin Limburg, a former Ansonia Tigers head coach, who took over the program following last season.
“They are a hard-nose, physical team — they’re better than everyone thought they would be,” Brackman said. “That is a huge compliment to Coach Limburg for stepping into some pretty big shoes and taking over a program with no guys returning from a really good team last year.”
Arcanum set the early tone, scoring the game’s first two baskets before Russia’s Cooper Unverferth knocked down a three-pointer to trim the deficit to one. The Trojans responded with a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead, forcing a Raiders timeout.
Russia answered with a 7-2 spurt to close within 11-10, but Arcanum again created separation, scoring five straight. The Raiders beat the first-quarter buzzer to trail by four, 16-12.
Russia struggled in the opening half to control the boards and keep the Trojans off the free-throw line. Arcanum capitalized by forcing turnovers and attacking the paint, stretching the lead to eight at the break, 27-19, punctuated by a Ben Hamilton half-court buzzer-beating three.
The Trojans opened the second half with four straight points to push the margin to double digits at 31-19. Russia responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to five, but Arcanum steadied itself late in the quarter, outscoring the Raiders 7-4 to carry a 38-30 advantage into the fourth.
Russia chipped away in the final period — down to six, then three, then one — before Goubeaux drilled a go-ahead three to give the Raiders their first lead of the night at 46-44.
Arcanum briefly answered at the line when Matthew McCans split a pair of free throws with 1:19 remaining, but Russia’s defense slammed the door, holding the Trojans scoreless the rest of the way to secure the comeback win.
“Being up eight going into the fourth, we can’t give up a 21-7 fourth quarter,” Brackman said. “I know that’s obvious to say, but we have to do a better job of keeping our guy in front.”
BOX SCORE:
RUSSIA 51, ARCANUM 45
RUSSIA – Unverferth 15, Goubeaux 9, Grogean 9, Bergman 9, Voisard 7, Hoghne 2 – TOTALS 13 10-12 5 51
ARCANUM – B. Hamilton 15, C. Ball 10, M. McCans 9, C. Weiss 5, J. Mote 2, B. Cartwright 2, A. Carlisle 2 – TOTALS 12 9-12 4 45
3-POINTERS
Russia 5 (Unverferth 2, Goubeaux 1, Grogean 1, Bergman 1)
Arcanum 4 (M. McCans 2, C. Weiss 1, B. Hamilton 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
12-07-11-21 51 Russia
16-11-11-07 45 Arcanum
