Raiders Run Past Terriers In Class M Opener

Top-seeded jumped to a 20-point halftime lead, then used an 18-0 third-quarter run to easily claim a 70-42 victory over in the first round of the Class M boys basketball tournament Tuesday night.

Trachone Preston was the only Raider in double figures, netting 24 points, but five other players scored at least seven points in the balanced Enfield attack.

"It's nice to see the balance on offense and defense, with everybody chipping in," Enfield head coach Cory O'Connell said. "Sometimes when you have a big lead, it's hard to focus, but we can't have any slipups along the way."

The Raiders first took a double-digit lead with 1:43 left in the first quarter, at the beginning of an 11-0 spurt. Freshman Rachone Preston, who had seven points off the bench in the first half and nine in the game, hit a buzzer beater to send the Raiders to the locker room with a 35-15 halftime advantage.

A steal and dunk by Trachone Preston highlighted the Raiders' third-quarter explosion. Rocky Hill kept battling, but never got closer than 25 the rest of the way.

"Enfield is 24-0 for a reason; they're a very good, athletic team," Terriers coach Pete Asadourian said. "We knew they were going to press us, and we kind of played into their hands a little bit. I feel our guys left it out on the floor tonight, and they played hard."

Senior Kenechi Nezianya was the only Terrier in double figures, tallying 11 points. Rocky Hill finished the season with an 8-13 record.

Enfield looks for its 25th straight win in the second round Thursday, hosting 16th-seeded Weston at 7 p.m.

Scoring Summary

Rocky Hill - Isaiah Rodriguez 0 1 1, Harrison Chipkin 2 0 4, Ryan LaFrancis 2 1 6, Tom Seaver 1 1 3, Chris Stoneburner 3 2 9, Christian Foxen 3 2 8, Kenechi Nezianya 5 1 11. Totals 16 8 42.
Three-point goals: LaFrancis, Stoneburner.

Enfield - Tony Romano 3 0 7, Tom Meskell 0 2 2, Hugh Lindo 3 2 8, Paul Lima 2 2 8, John Cerrato 3 2 8, Josh Gaines 2 0 4, Rachone Preston 4 0 9, Trachone Preston 10 3 24. Totals 27 11 70.
Three-point goals: Lima (2), Romano, R. Preston, T. Preston.

Score By Quarters
Rocky Hill            4   11  10  17 - 42
Enfield               17   18  23  12 - 70

Did you attend the game? Send us your pictures! Email us at Joseph.Wenzel@Patch.com.

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