It was a week of wins for the Madison County Red Raiders and improvement to the top of the sub-region as the team added wins over Flowery Branch, Clarke Central and Apalachee.
With Madison County now 5-1; 11-9 on the season, the Red Raiders are at home this weekend, hosting Winder-Barrow Friday night and Buford Saturday.
As the Red Raiders take on the Bulldoggs at a 8:30 p.m. tip-off, Madison County will be looking for its sixth sub-region victory. Winder-Barrow, 4-2; 8-12, is the current second seed in the sub-region and has proven to be a tough opponent.
Madison County fell to Winder-Barrow earlier in the season, 66-63.
The Bulldoggs have defeated Madison County in the past three meetings, each time by a score of less than 10 points. With the home advantage to Madison County this time around, the Red Raiders are looking to break that streak and pull ahead of the sub-region threat.
Winder-Barrow fell to Clarke Central, the number three seed, last week, tying the two at 4-2 in sub-region play. Madison County defeated Clarke Central last Friday and will face the Gladiators again Feb. 11.
Coming up Saturday, the final non-region game of the season for the Red Raiders pits Madison County against visiting Buford for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
Madison County fell to Buford prior to starting region play, 68-40, and look to make up for that loss against a capable team. Buford is a team, like Hart County, that provides a good show for fans as the team doesn’t have the added pressure of a sub-region record on the line and can go out to just play for the win.
Buford and Madison County each have amassed 1184 points to date with the Wolves averaging 62 per game and the Red Raiders 59 points per game. Madison County has allowed on average about 10 points more per game than Buford.
Over the past week Madison County recorded three wins, first defeating region newcomer Flowery Branch in a 73-67 showdown last Tuesday. Flowery Branch fell in both meetings this season with the Red Raiders with the earlier defeat, 61-51.
Stan Maxwell led the Red Raider offense to the victory, knocking down 23 points while backed by Trae Burton’s 16 points and Dominique Parrish with 15.
In good start to the week, Madison County continued with a needed 74-63 victory over Clarke Central on the road. Friday’s road game was the first meeting between the Glads and Red Raiders after the early January snow postponed the home game with Clarke Central. The reschedule date for that game is Feb. 11, with a 8:30 p.m start.
The Red Raiders held a commanding 20 point lead heading into the final minutes, but a Gladiator rally cut that in half as Madison County stopped the rally to preserve the victory.
Dropping 18 points in the first half and finishing with 30 points and 15 rebounds, Maxwell led the team. Burton also earned a double-double sinking 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Terrell McCrary paced the leaders with 17 points of his own.
The third straight victory for Madison County was another road battle as the Red Raiders defeated Apalachee Tuesday night for the Wildcats 17th straight loss.
With an 18 point buffer at the end of the night, Madison County scratched out the 60-42 win over the Wildcats after Apalachee led the first quarter 10-9.
The third quarter was the hot period for the Red Raiders as they outscored the ‘Cats 20-8. Apalachee tried a late rally in the fourth quarter, but didn't gain much ground trailing 15-12 scoring.
Parrish led the offense, shooting great from the outside with five three-pointers and totaling 19 points. Burton added 17 points, while Maxwell scored 14 points, but pulled down 15 rebounds, the game high.
With Madison County leading the sub-region and Apalachee bringing up the rear the half-time score of 25-22 for the Red Raiders, was a little surprising.
Madison County ends the regular season against Apalachee next Saturday, Feb. 12 at home.
