By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

After a 49-point win Thursday night, the Raiders were tested by a scrappy Lakeland team Friday at the Bess Activity Center.

Three Rivers got a turnover and forced a tough final shot to hang on for a 72-69 win.

"We can learn a lot from that one," Raiders coach Gene Bess said. "We almost got beat by a very good basketball team."

The Raiders were led in scoring by Aloysius Henry's 12 points and nine rebounds. Adam Carpenter had 11 points and Josh Terry added 10 as the Raiders (8-2) won their sixth straight game.

Three Rivers had a 71-69 lead and forced Nate Barnes out of bounds with just 23 seconds remaining to get the ball back. After Carpenter split free throws with 6.5 seconds left, the Lakers came out of a timeout and Barnes got a 3-pointer off from the left side that was just a little too strong, rimming out as the Raiders held on for the win.

"We had a couple of big turnovers at the end of the game," Raiders guard Marquise Carter said. "Coach just told us to play defense and 'D' up and that is what we did."

Barnes, who missed the final shot at the horn, was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line on the night and finished with 20 points.

"We were just hoping that we didn't foul (him)," Raiders sophomore Ken Bingham said. "He would've hit those. We trapped him toward the end."

The Raiders had a 62-54 edge with 5:38 remaining in the contest but the Lakers got four quick points to close it within four as the Raiders called a timeout with 4:39 left. Just minutes later, the Lakers took their first lead of the game at 69-68 on a Charles Osby drive down the right side of the lane with 2:01 remaining.

"Coach Brian had told these guys, there is some of them that weren't going to be able to guard those guys if they didn't raise their level," Bess said. "They are just not that used to guarding those quick of guys in high school. They get out here and they are not sure what level they are going to have to play at."

Before taking the lead, the closest the Lakers had been was a 46-46 tie with 14:12 remaining in the game after trailing 36-31 at halftime. The Raiders took a 46-39 lead after a Terry hoop at the 16:01 mark but the Lakers struck back quickly with the help of two steals and a 3-pointer from Osby.

"Those little guys, at least two of them were very good," Bess said. "They not only could beat you off the dribble but they could shoot a 3-pointer."

The Raiders opened the game on a tear with seven straight points ignited with a 3-pointer at the 18:57 mark from Jeff Shelton. The Raiders went ahead 11-3 and Lakeland called a timeout but it did little to stop the Raiders momentum as they opened up a 16-3 lead finished off by a basket and free throw from Shelton after a steal with 15:39 remaining in the first half.

Three Rivers maintained a rather large lead until late in the first half when the Lakers made a push. Lakeland went on a 11-4 run to close the half punctuated with a post basket from Khari Riley with just 14 seconds on the clock.

"I think at the beginning, we came out and we played hard," Carter said. "I think we kind of settled down a little bit and they just took advantage of it."

The Raiders struggled on the offensive side of the court throughout the game, Bess said.

"I think our guys were trying hard, I didn't question that," Bess said. "But it was just more a matter of we didn't execute very well offensively and when we don't do well offensively, our defense suffers a little bit, too."

The Raiders were hoping to rest Carter who is still recovering from an ankle injury, but he entered the game with just under 14 minutes remaining in the contest.

"We were planning to give him another day off and play him (Saturday) night because he has got a ankle problem," Bess said. "We thought we needed him because we were really not getting much offense generated. We went with him and I thought he did a pretty good job."