The Mathews High School varsity boys’ basketball team started its 2016-2017 season on a strong note, defeating the visiting Rappahannock Raiders in a low-scoring game Monday night, 33-21.

The game started out well for Mathews, with Jarius Monroe earning two free-throws in the opening seconds. The game slowed down tremendously after that, with neither team being able to make a shot against tough defense. By halftime, the two teams were knotted, 11-11.

Rappahannock outscored Mathews in the third quarter, and created a small lead. Then, in the fourth quarter, Mathews put the pressure on defensively and started to press the Rappahannock guards. An abundance of turnovers led to easy points for the Devils, and they were able to take back the lead and pull away in the closing minutes.

Stuart Anderson led the team in rebounds with eight. Monroe was the high scorer for the Blue Devils, with 13 points. The rest of the scorers for Mathews were Elijah Willis with seven points, Jal...