OXFORD, N.C. – Jordan continues to climb as one of the 4A East’s top contenders.

The Falcons erased an early first-half deficit and held on with late defensive stands to defeat Ravenscroft 72-69 in a thrilling finish at J.F. Webb’s MLK Invitational.

Out of the gates, the Ravens had a 7-0 lead. Four of their seven first-half threes opened up a sizable advantage. That was until Derek Ross Jr. let a halfcourt shot fly at the buzzer to trim Jordan’s deficit to 23-17 after one.

Rivers Knight owned the second quarter. While Jordan could never tie or take the lead, the junior poured in 9 of his team-high 29 to pull the Falcons within one at the half.

A pair of Bryce Hill three-point baskets helped Jordan claim its first lead of the night with 4:53 left on the third-quarter clock. Hill and Julian Lowe helped the Falcons to victory with 14 points each.

Jordan continued to mix up defensive looks to freeze the Ravens’ first-half shooting momentum. Only eight shots fell in the second half for Ravenscroft, none from beyond the arc.

With its pace established, the Falcons’ 58-51 lead through three grew to as much as 69-59 in the final minutes.

Ravenscroft’s star scorer Chance Gladden, a Boston recruit, worked his way to the free throw line a dozen times in the fourth quarter to ignite a late 10-3 run.

With 34 points already to Gladden’s name, the Ravens earned possession of the ball with 0.8 seconds, trailing by three. An open look from the corner bounced out to seal the win for Jordan.

The Falcons are now 13-2 overall and return to conference play on Wednesday against Northern Durham.

Ravenscroft dropped to 12-9 following the loss. The Ravens will head to Garner on Monday to play Leesville Road in the Trojans’ MLK Showcase.

BOX SCORE
JOR 17-21-20-14 72
RVC 23-16-12-18 69

SCORING
JOR: Knight 29, Lowe 14, Hill 14, Ross Jr. 8, Melton 4, Bryan 2, Diaz 2
RVC: Gladden 34, Gilbert 18, Moore 8, Stewart 6, Carroll 3

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