By Dalton Shadle
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Raiders survived a close battle on their home court defeating Central Decataur 65-64 Monday night in Mount Ayr.
The one-point victory improves Mount Ayr’s record to 9-3 on the season.
Mount Ayr fell behind early as the Cardinals held a 16-13 lead after the first quarter. The two teams went back and forth in the second quarter as both teams put up 16 points.
The Raiders came out of halftime and took a three-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The game would come right down to the wire with Mount Ayr holding on for the one-point margin of victory.
Coach Brett Ruggles was proud of his team and paid respect to the Cardinals after the game.
“I was proud of our tightness,” he said. “We had chances to crumble there in the second half and we stayed the course and got the stops we needed. Central Decatur is a much improved basketball team and they showed it. We made the plays to win another tough conference game.”
Senior Jackson Ruggles scored a game high 29 points in the game with 12 points coming off of three pointers.
Junior Hayes Stogdill also reached double figures in scoring with 13 points, while Drew Graham added six points.
The Raiders are back on the court on Thursday at Clarke Community and remain on the road Monday at Southwest Valley.
