The home standing Royals appeared on the brink of defeat when a jumper by Rice's Kashif Pratt opened the lead to nine with 1:50 to go, but the Royals managed the end game situation beautifully. Chris Martin hit three consecutive triples during the stretch, the second of which was a tough off balance shot from the right of the key with a Rice hand in his face. As the Royals sent Rice to the line for free throws, the Raiders made three during those last moments, but they also missed just enough to keep the door open a crack.

With their final possession of regulation Christ the King set up Martin on an inbounds play from under their basket. When he could not make his fourth straight triple Malik Boothe chased down the loose rebound tipped a pass to Larry Davis in the left corner where he set his feet and buried the game a triple to tie the game at 60.

The overtime was just as dramatic. After the two teams traded misses to open the extra session baskets by Edgar Sosa for Rice and Martin for CK kept things even at 62. Sosa scored a trey to give Rice a brief advantage but consecutive baskets by Davis gave the Royals the lead at 66-65. On the next Rice possession, the Raiders got the ball to Kelly inside. As he backed his man down, Martin came off the man he was guarding and took a swipe at Curtis Kelly's dribble. He did not get the steal but it appeared he caused the 6'9" lefty to pick the ball up just a second sooner than he would have liked, his shot spun out and the Royals had the lead and the ball seemingly for the first time all day, They worked the clock and with time running down Davis drove, got fouled and made one of two free throws on a shot that bounced gently on the back rim three times before finding its way through the hoop to give CK a 67-66 advantage.

Rice was not done just yet, Sosa drove the lane and missed a short pop but his penetration gave Kelly the room he needed to gather in a tough offensive rebound. He reversed in a tough lefty lay-up drew the foul and, after struggling all game at the charity stripe, made his biggest free throw to give the Raiders a 68-67 advantage.

With time running down in the overtime Davis drove the paint and missed in heavy traffic on his initial shot and the offensive rebound. Gooding rebounded the second miss below the right block, powered the ball to the rim and was fouled. The senior's two free throws to win the game were the best looking pair of the day. He swished the first and barely grazed the rim on the second.

Although this was a tough loss for the Raiders, Coach Maurice Hicks would be wise to remember the good things his team did. His three top players, juniors Kelly, Sosa and Pratt all played tough in a tight game in front of a hostile crowd. More important for the Raiders playoff possibilities though may have been the play of unsung hero Joesph Vines, whose activity and ability to finish around the basket helped the Raiders gain the early advantage they maintained till the very end of regulation.

For CK the win was impressive because they won it without two starters as both Nico Scott and Adam Walker missed the game with injuries. More than that, the way Gooding, Chris Martin and Larry Davis wanted the ball and made shots down the stretch bodes well for their own playoff hopes. Although only one team, Christ the King could get the win, both teams showed they are capable of making a championship run.'