It was back and forth. No breathing room for either team. Four quarters and overtime were needed to decide the outcome. Thirty-six minutes in all of heart-stopping, pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat basketball in a riveting showdown featuring two of the area’s best teams.

With under 10 minutes to play in a tightly played match against rival Milton on a chilly Tuesday evening, Owen Bartlett had to hold his own in a pressure situation.

Three times he came up with clutch saves, once diving in the air and knocking the ball off his body, as the Raiders held on and preserved their 2-2 tie against the Panthers at Hurley Manning Field.

Defensive back De’Mareyae Givens hadn’t forgotten the pain of last season’s gut-wrenching ending to the season. The University of West Florida Argonauts lost to Newberry in their first ever home playoff game, which was played at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

He and his teammates didn’t want history repeating itself.

Terry Posey liked what he saw from his team against Milton last Wednesday night in a preseason tip-off tournament at Pace.

Certainly, everything isn’t perfect and most of the players on the team are new to varsity, but live action can’t be duplicated, and the Raiders took advantage of it in a 58-55 win.