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The Santa Fe Raiders boy’s basketball team topped the North Marion Colts to claim the 4A District 4 crown Friday evening. Thanks to a stellar 19-point performance from guard Dontrell Jenkins and a third-quarter three-point shooting spark, the Raiders were able to run away with a 54-42 victory.
Santa Fe Starts Off Strong
Santa Fe center Kyren Washington got the first half rolling for the Raiders, with an easy lay-in off a back door cut. North Marion’s Elija Walton immediately responded with a layup for the Colts.
With 4:24 left in the first quarter, Santa Fe’s Jenkins stole the ball away from the Colts, which led to a massive slam from Mason Brown to put the Raiders up by three. Jenkins drained a three-pointer, forcing North Marion coach Timothy Yarn to call a timeout down 11-3 with 2:04 left in the first quarter.
Colts Make a Run
The Colts entered the second quarter down 14-9 but wasted no time making their defensive presence known. North Marion’s 6’5” 210-pound power forward Elija Walton swatted the ball out of bounds with 5:10 left in the second quarter to give the Colts a defensive spark of energy.
With 2:07 left to play in the second quarter, North Marion guard Prince Ntozo nailed a three-pointer bringing the Colts within three points of the Raiders, forcing Santa Fe coach Glen Banks to call a timeout. North Marion closed the first half with an 11-0 run, giving the Colts a 20-16 lead at halftime.
D’marion Cooper sinks a three at the buzzer to extend the Colts’ lead going into halftime
Halftime
Santa Fe: 16
North Marion: 20@ESPNGainesville @NMColts @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone @RAWE_RECRUITS— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) February 12, 2022
Three-Point Shootout
Determined to flip the script of the first half, the Raiders scored quickly with a layup from Brown early in the third quarter. The game quickly turned into a three-point shooting fest for the Raiders. In the third quarter alone, the Raiders knocked down six 3 point shots, with four of those coming from sophomore guard Braylon Guyden.
The Raiders put 25 points on the board in the third quarter, which resulted in a 41-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Santa Fe’s Jenkins breaks his defender’s ankles and knocks down a mid-range jumper to bring the Raiders crowd to its feet
2:26 left in Q3
Santa Fe: 34
North Marion: 29@ESPNGainesville @NMColts @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone @RAWE_RECRUITS— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) February 12, 2022
District Championship Within Reach
With a district championship on the line, the Raiders relentlessly fought for every point in the fourth quarter. Raiders center Kyren Washington snuck past the Colts defenders on a beautiful back-door cut and capitalized with a layup to extend the Raiders’ lead to 43-36.
The Raiders sealed the victory by knocking down 9 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter. Dontrell Jenkins led the Raiders in scoring with 19 points. Mason Brown and Braylen Guyden each tallied 12 points apiece.
The Santa Fe Raiders are presented with the 4A District 4 Championship trophy@ESPNGainesville @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone @RAWE_RECRUITS pic.twitter.com/t3tWZO8z88
— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) February 12, 2022
Can the Raiders Keep Winning?
Santa Fe’s coach Glen Banks believes the team needs to continue to improve moving forward. Working hard, improving defensively and executing every chance the Raiders get is the key to success, according to the Raiders head man.
“In the playoffs, you can’t run the whole time, so you’ve got to be able to execute,” he said.
According to stand-out point guard Dontrell Jenkins, the Raiders have their sights set on returning to the state championship for the second year in a row.
