The Mathews High School boys’ basketball teams traveled to Richmond County on Monday night to open the 2017-2018 season. The varsity and JV Devils suffered losses of 61-47 and 44-39, respectively, to the Rappahannock Raiders.

Varsity Devils

Monday’s game started out evenly, with the teams matching each other basket-for-basket. By the end of the first quarter, Mathews held a two-point lead. As the second quarter progressed, the Raiders began to pull away. Rappahannock was aided by heavy foul trouble by the Blue Devil squad, and the Raiders dominated both the offensive and defensive rebounds. By halftime, Mathews was trailing, 29-23.

As the second half began, the Blue Devils improved their rebounding, and started to close the gap. Using full-court defensive pressure to their advantage, Mathews got several steals and reduced the lead to two points. However, the run was quickly followed by multiple Mathews turnovers and fouls. As the fourth quarter began, Mathews trailed by ...