AURORA | At every opportunity for the first quarter and a half of Tuesday night’s Regis Jesuit boys basketball game against Hinkley, Raiders fans clamored for Samba Kane.
They were eager to get a look at the 6-foot-11 sophomore in action and weren’t disappointed once coach Ken Shaw sent him into the game with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
In his short appearance in the first half of Regis Jesuit’s 60-52 victory over the Thunderbirds, Kane made a free throw, had an alley-oop dunk and blocked a couple of shots. For the game, he finished with seven points, seven rebounds and those two rejections.
Until he came into the game, Raiders fans chanted “Sam-ba, Sam-ba, Sam-ba” and cheered every time the team stood up for a time out or loose ball, expecting him to come in.
Finally, he peeled off the sweats with 3:40 remaining in the first half and got to the free throw line seconds later after getting two rebounds after a short miss by junior teammate Justin Lamb.
On the next trip down the court, Regis Jesuit got a steal and junior Elijah Martinez tossed the ball up to Kane for an alley-oop dunk, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He finished 3-for-4 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
Lamb scored a team-high 13 points for the Raiders, while Martinez and senior Connor Hobbs finished with nine apiece.
Next up for the new-look Raiders is a matchup with top-ranked ThunderRidge at 6 p.m. Saturday at Regis Jesuit.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
REGIS JESUIT 60, HINKLEY 52
Score by quarters:
Hinkley 15 9 14 14 — 52
Regis Jesuit 11 14 17 18 — 60
HINKLEY (52)
Jayquawn Thompson 7 3-4 18, Dewayne Carter 2 0-2 4, Omari Walker 2 0-0 6, Qwame Williams 3 3-5 9, Calvin Pope 2 0-0 4, Angel Rodriguez Betancourt 2 2-2 7, Aaron Orona 1 1-2 4, Nick Wasmundt 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-11 52.
REGIS JESUIT (60)
Elijah Martinez 4 1-1 9, Sam Bannec 1 1-4 4, Connor Hobbs 2 5-8 9, Jamil Safieddine 1 6-6 8, Justin Lamb 2 9-13 13, Payton Egloff 2 3-5 7, Justin Kargarzadeh 1 0-0 3, Samba Kane 3 1-2 7. Totals 16 26-41 60.
3-point field goals — Hinkley (8): Jayquawn Thompson 4, Omari Walker 2, Aaron Orona, Angel Rodriguez Betancourt. Regis Jesuit (2): Sam Bannec, Connor Hobbs. Total fouls — Hinkley 25, Regis Jesuit 15. Fouled out — Hinkley: Dewayne Carter, Thompson, Nick Wasmundt. Technical foul — Regis Jesuit bench.
