Raiders survive ugly start, use defense to tighten screws on McCluer

QUINCY — The first 3 ½ minutes of Quincy Notre Dame’s season opener against McCluer on Friday night was … almost unwatchable.

The Raiders missed their first six shots, turned the ball over twice and missed three out of four free throws to trail 6-1.

“It was really bad. Really bad,” senior Jackson Stratton said. “That’s not how he wanted to come out.”

“It was a challenge to score,” Raiders coach Kevin Meyer said. “At one point, it was 3-0, and Charlie (Lavery) went to the free-throw line. I’m like, ‘Charlie, just put us on the board.’ He made his free throw, but it was just a grind.”

The Raiders turned the ball over 17 times and only shot 43.8 percent from the field, but their defensive pressure throttled McCluer in a 59-39 victory on Friday night in the Gully Transportation Shootout at the Pit.

QND eventually led 15-10 after a rocky first quarter and held a 27-20 advantage at halftime. An 18-5 run to open the third quarter finally helped the Raiders take a 45-25 lead, and the advantage never dipped below 14 points afterward.

“We just have to stay organized. I thought that was a big thing,” Meyer said. “When we ran our press break, we kind of dictated what we wanted to do. Then we were pretty solid. When we got squirrely and loose and played really fast, we weren’t trusting each other our system. That was a challenge that the coaches put on the board at halftime. ‘Do you trust it? Then go prove it.’ I thought they did that in the second half.”

Stratton, who finished with 13 points, scored eight of them in the third quarter when the Raiders made nine of 13 shots.

“You know, it was the first game. We just couldn’t get it flowing (early), and we haven’t played for a while,” Stratton said. “I feel like we came back really strong. Yeah, the first quarter was a little rough. That just shows how we can persevere. I mean, we all know we can play.”

And they can really defend. McCluer turned the ball over 23 times and shot just 29.8 percent (14 for 47) from the field. 

“Our (full-court) press (that went) back to man (in the halfcourt) was very good,” Stratton said. “I really liked how the guys were rotating. We were talking, a lot of communication. That was key.”

“Our defense is going to lead us,” Meyer said. “Our defense is going to lead us into transition. If we don’t have to score on offense, we’ll just get into transition. I’m OK with that.”

Both Stratton and Meyer noted the Raiders gave up a few too many offensive rebounds. Four of McCluer’s baskets were on putbacks.

“We’ve still got some things to work on,” Meyer said. “We’ve got to get cleaned up a lot on the boards. I know we got out rebounded, but I’ve yet to see those actual numbers. That’s got to be a little bit better for us, especially with the guys we have back.”

Josh Bocke led the Raiders with 14 points, and Lavery added 13. Brandon Johnson and John Fuller each had 11 for the Comets.