The Wagner 7/8 boys’ basketball teams travelled to Parkston on Friday, February 17, for a pair of games against the Trojans. In the 7th grade game, the Raiders were without a couple of their regular starters and it showed as they struggled offensively for most of the game. After falling behind in the first quarter, the Raiders settled down some in the 2nd and managed to keep the game close at half as they trailed 16-9. Baskets were hard to come by in the second half as they Raiders just couldn’t get anything to fall. The Trojans were able to pull away in the second half to defeat the Raiders by a score of 37-11. The loss dropped the Raiders record to 9-5 on the season. Leading scorers were Cruise Koupal with 7 and Jacob Kotab and Beau Otte each added 2.

The 8th grade team was in the same boat as the 7th grade team as they were missing 3 regular starters for their game too. The Raiders struggled on offense in the first quarter before settling down to end the first half trailing 18-9. The Trojans used an up-tempo transition offense to push the ball in the second half, which the Raiders couldn’t keep up with. The Raiders were defeated for the first time this season by a score of 44-14. Their record now stands at 13-1 on the season. Leading scorers for the Raiders were Carlos Galindo with 4, Dominic Doom with 3, AJ Kotab, Benny Greger and Kingston Brunelle each with 2, and Paxton Kuhlman chipped in 1. The 8th grade team travels back to Parkston for the Parkston Tournament on Saturday, February 18.