Habersham Central’s 10-game losing streak came to an end Friday night against West Oak, as the Raiders avenged their December 6 one-point loss on the road with a 51-41 win.
The Raiders outscored West Oak 13-10 in the first quarter on the home court, but the visitors trimmed the Raider lead to 23-22 heading into the break. A low-scoring third quarter, in which both sides tallied nine points, set the stage for a big Raider finish.
“It was a great feeling finally getting that first win and an even better feeling because we won it for each other and no one else,” says junior guard Trey Wetherton.
The Raiders dropped 19 points in the final stanza, while the defense held off West Oak for a 10-point victory.
A couple of weeks ago (December 6), the Raiders fell on the road in a heart-breaker by one point to West Oak, so this being the first win of the season for Hab Central makes it even sweeter.
“It’s always a good feeling getting back at a team that beat you by a very small margin,” says Wetherton. “I’ve always thought that I’d rather get beat by 40 and there was nothing you can do about it rather than getting beat by one or two because there is always one or two things you could’ve done better to fix it. I think it stings knowing you were that close and weren’t able to finish it, but we fixed that by beating them the second time.”
Habersham fell Saturday night at home to rival Stephens County in a non-region matchup, and move to 1-11 on the season. The Raiders travel to Dawson County Monday night and host Madison County Tuesday evening before getting a lengthy break. Habersham then returns to action for region play beginning January 6 against Lanier.
The Raiders are trying to fine-tune prior to beginning that region slate.
“Our focus for region play is what is had been all year long,” adds Wetherton. “We have to focus on us. In most of the games we play, we beat ourselves in turning the ball over [many] times per game and then getting beat bad on the boards. We just have to correct mental mistakes because up to this point, it hasn’t been talent that’s holding us back – it’s our mental game. We are getting better every practice.”
