South Royalton’s Stu Walker dribbles around a tight Rivendell defense last Thursday during a devastating 52–74 Royals loss. (Herald / Joyce Hunt) On Thursday, Feb. 9, the Royals hosted the Rivendell Raptors for a rematch of their first game, which the Royals won. The Raptors, having only one loss on the season, suffered at the hands of the Royals, came out on a mission. From the jump, the Raptors controlled the tempo of the game and quickly jumped out to a big lead.

Before the end of the first quarter, the Royals found themselves trailing by almost 20 points. When the second quarter ended, the Royals entered the locker room down by over 20 points. When the Royals came out in the third, they slowed down the tempo and began to score, but their defense was not strong enough, and the Raptors had an answer for every Royal bucket. When the final horn blew, the Raptors left with a 74-52 win.

For the Raptors, Dylan Pelletier, who just recently scored his 1000th career point, ended the game with 19 points. Kyle Huntington added 18. For the Royals, Ian Kinnarney had 14, Mike Murphy had 12 and Nate Moore added 10. The Royals’ next game is in Chelsea on Wednesday.