Raiders overcome deficit to defeat Gretna 74-65

The Gretna Hawks varsity boys basketball team swooped into Appomattox on Friday night and appeared to have the Raiders in their clutches with a 17-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But Appomattox, riding a four-game win streak coming into the contest, wasn't about the allow the Hawks to escape without a fight.

Down 32-26 to start the third quarter, Tyler Gilliam nailed a 3-pointer and Tevin Hurt put in two consecutive buckets on offensive rebounds to tie the score at 33-all.

Hurt continued on his rampage with a blocked shot on defense and two free throws made after being fouled on a shot to take a 35-33 lead.

The Raiders gained significant momentum in the fourth quarter when, with a narrow 52-50 edge, Gilliam lobbed a pass to Hurt for a slam dunk, Jaylen Lewis connected on a jump shot and Gilliam put a fake on a Hawks defender to go in for a score, widening the gap to 60-52.

Appomattox held the lead from there on out, winning 74-65 to tally their fifth straight victory and improve to 8-6 overall.

Hurt led the Raiders with 25 points, followed by Gilliam with 19 and Casey Scruggs with 14.

For further coverage, see the Feb. 5 edition of the Times Virginian.