- I've seen Ray Paul play football a few times. The GR all-star from Barker is a load as a fullback. He's an even bigger load on the basketball court. The 6-foot-2 big man blocked three shots in the first quarter and scored five points as the Raiders jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Bees could not hit a shot and missed two free throws with three seconds left in the period.
- When two small schools get together to play a basketball game, sometimes the games can be ugly if the teams do not play well. Here is one of those examples.
Byron-Bergen did not score its first basket until 10 minutes into the game when Tyler Sass hit a 3-pointer. Barker struggled to hit a shot and so did the Bees. The Raiders had a 12-3 lead with two minutes left in the first half when Sass hit his second 3-pointer of the period. He made it six-straight points when he hit his third 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. As ugly as the half was, the game is tight with Barker leading 12-9.
1:42 p.m. - Finally, some action. Paul and Sass both scored five points and the Bees took a 27-26 lead after three periods of play.
Trevor Laurie got the game within three points with a 3 before Sass tied things up with 4:20 left in the third with another trifecta.
After exchanging points, Byron-Bergen took its first lead of the game on a bucket by Sass. A Laurie basket gave the Bees a 3-point lead, but Greg Brown scored for Barker with six seconds left.
2:10 p.m. - It wound up being the Ray Paul show.
Barker won the game 43-38 and Paul - a three year varsity starter - was the star, scoring a team-high 22 points and blocking five shots. The game was briefly stopped with 3 1/2 minutes left when Paul forced his way to the basket and banged in a layup. It was his 18th point of the game and the 1,000th of his career.
The Raiders scored eight straight points to eliminate a five point Byron-Bergen lead and Paul's basket gave Barker a 33-32 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game. Xavier Mann scored to make it a three point game and it was never closer than that.
Barker had expanded the lead to 41-33 when Paul hit a pair of free throws and 32 seconds on the clock, but Kurtis Fannon drained a 3 for the Bees and Barker couldn't hit foul shots as B-B was forced to foul. Sass knocked in a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three again, but an intentional foul was called and Brown went to the line, hitting one-of-two attempts. Barker got the ball back and Brown was fouled again, missing both.
Sass missed a 3-point attempt with a second left and Paul went to the line to cap off his big game, hitting one of two.
The Niagara-Orleans League now has a 3-1 advantage in the Showdown with four games left to be played today. CSAT and Alexander is coming up next.
