After trailing by eight points at the half, the Mathews High School varsity boys’ basketball team rallied to pull out a 61-60 win over the visiting Rappahannock Raiders Tuesday night.

Facing a 37-29 halftime deficit, the Blue Devils worked together and slowly closed the gap to claim the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. After going back and forth against the Raiders in the final period, the Devils captured their first win of the season, coming out on top by a single point.

Tae Legette led the team with 24 points. Tre Greene also ended the night in double-digits with 23 points. Junior Andrew Greve captured seven rebounds, followed by seniors Chris Atwood and Thomas Hubbard with five rebounds each.

“With six healthy varsity players, it took a complete team effort to pull out the win,” head coach Josh Grein said after the win.

Mathews will travel to North- umberland tonight, as the Devils look for their first away win of the season. They will then host the Charles City Panthers at home on Friday in a varsity-only contest starting at 6 p.m.

JV Devils

The JV Blue Devils, meanwhile, fell by a 43-39 margin Tuesday night to the visiting Rappahannock Raiders. The Devils led by seven points at halftime, but could not continue their momentum into the second half. Standout eighth grader Desmond Darby led the team with 22 points, with freshman Blake Hunley scoring 11. Darby also led the team in rebounds with six.

First-year JV head coach Jonathan Matthews had this to say about his team’s performance: “It’s a young team and they are coming around each game. Tonight’s loss was tough.”