AUBURN – Red Level knew it would be in for a tough challenge against Shaw (Columbus, Ga.) Monday in the Henry Harris Memorial Basketball Classic. But no matter what it tried, the Tigers (13-3) could not keep up with the Raiders, falling 70-50 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

&uot;Their quickness was the big difference in the game,&uot; said Red Level Head Coach Fred Kelley. &uot;It kept us off balance all night and I guess we just weren’t prepared. We didn’t play ball.&uot;

Playing on his future home floor, Frank Tolbert did his best to keep Red Level in it, but was often frustrated by the Raiders’ defense. Tolbert, who is the school’s all-time leading scorer, finished with 23 points and now has 1,993 for his career.

The teams battled back and forth in the early going, with Shaw taking a slight advantage behind the play of Lartereo Shaw and Bryant Thomas. The Raiders pushed the lead to double-digits in the second quarter, and went into halftime with a 32-20 lead.

In the second half, Red Level turnovers led to numerous easy baskets for Shaw and the lead ballooned to 20 points after consecutive buckets by Thomas off of steals.

&uot;Give a lot of credit to Shaw, they did a great job,&uot; Kelley said. &uot;They gave us a hard time, but it will help us get better as a team. We just have to go back to the drawing board now.&uot;