Roberts sweeps Myers

Senior Jenna Payne led the way with 20 points for the women and Alfonso Evans scored 29 for the men as Roberts Wesleyan swept a basketball doubleheader from Myers University from Cleveland.

Starting 70 minutes after the scheduled time due to the late arrival of the Mustangs, the Raiders ran out to a 14-2 lead and never trailed in their 87-59 victory.

"With the late start and having to wait around for an hour, the atmosphere and the other team was dead and our team played into that so we talked abut regaining our energy at halftime," said second year head coach Candy Van Buskirk. "The bad news was it took us until seven minutes into the second half to find that energy, but we did."

In addition to her team-leading 20 points, Payne and Erin Farney each hauled down 11 rebounds and Payne had three blocks. Farney scored 16 points while Joanna Patalano (Churchville-Chili) and Aimee Kovinchick added 12 and 11, respectively.

The Lady Raiders improved to 4-8 in their first season following the graduation of Judy Wright. "We push the ball through four or five player's hands and don't really have that one player we rely on to score," said Van Buskirk. "When everyone contributes, they have pride that they have a part in the team."

In the men's contest, Evans scored 22 of the Raiders 46 second-half points in a 77-62 win.

Greg Thom added 16 points with Jake Liebman and Benjamin Lewis each scoring eight as nine different players contributed to the offense. Jason Lockwood handed out 11 assists while Mark Saladzius and Brandon Jones combined for 17 rebounds as the Raiders improved to 8-6.

Both teams completed in the JP Morgan Chase Tournament this past week and return to Mideast Conference play Tuesday with a doubleheader against Point Park College.

January 14, 2007