Hot-shooting Milton outscores Navarre

The Raiders got off the bus Friday trailing host Milton by 14 points.

Or, at least, that’s how it must have seemed to Navarre High School’s struggling boys’ basketball team after a 54-39 loss to their cross-county and District 1-6A rivals.

The Panthers scorched the Raiders defense in the first quarter, shooting 100 percent from the field – including three three-pointers – while building a 22-8 lead. Senior forward David Tober scored eight of his team-high 11 points in the quarter.

The Raiders, paced by Jaunte Cunningham’s team high 11 points, survived the early heat wave and found themselves within striking distance late in the third quarter. Blake Malter scored eight of his 10 points in the second half and helped the Raiders cut the lead to single digits with less than three minutes left in the third quarter.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the fourth quarter was almost a repeat of the first. The Panthers torched the nets again, missing only one shot in the final quarter.

Navarre was scheduled to host Pace on Tuesday and Pine Forest tonight, Thursday Jan. 24. Junior varsity games were scheduled for 6 p.m. both nights, followed by varsity contests at 7:30 p.m.