RAYMOND — Meridian is now back to .500.

 

Behind a strong second half, along with the play of Demontae Powe and William Davidson, the Wildcats got past Raymond 54-41 in a battle of state champions on Tuesday night.

 

“It’s been a long time since we’ve won over here. We’ve played these guys nine years and been seven or eight years since we’ve won in this gym,” said Meridian coach Ron Norman. “Been some really good games and both teams extremely talented, but to come on the road with this young group of kids and get a win against a really good Raymond team is a big confidence booster for us.”

 

The first part of the game was back-and-forth that saw Raymond leading 13-10 at the end of the opening quarter.

 

The second quarter is when Meridian got going as the Wildcats opened on a 10-3 run to a take 20-16 lead and eventually held a 25-22 lead at halftime.

 

The third quarter was the difference as Meridian outscored the Rangers 12-3 to take a commanding 37-25 lead at the end of the frame. The Wildcats opened the quarter on an 8-3 run.

 

In the fourth quarter began with each team trading baskets, but Meridian had an answer every time Raymond cut into the lead.

 

Davidson made a face break dunk with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter to give Meridian a 49-36 lead.

 

“Proud of my guys for fighting and played hard. Tony gets the best out of his guys, so I’m proud of our kids for staying composed and making shots,” Norman said. “We rebounded a little better in the second half, zone slowed them down and we made some timely shots. Powe has a good bloodline and really proud of him because he made some big shots. We started out the gate with a very tough schedule has gotten us ready for games like this. This going to benefit us going on the road and getting a big win.”

 

Powe had a game-high 17 points to lead Meridian, while Davidson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (4-4), the defending MHSAA Class 7A state champions.

 

Jay’don Clark had 14 points to lead Raymond, while Willie Myles added 10 points for the Rangers (7-3), the defending MHSAA Class 4A state champions.