They were locked in and rocking.

As the Atlee Raiders assumed full control of the action in the first half of their matchup with visiting Henrico Tuesday night, nothing, it seemed, could stop them in their quest to secure their first win of the season.

Thanks to their intentionally and aggressively played defense, disciplined offense, and lights-out shooting touch, the rebuilding, work-in-progress version of the 2025 VHSL, Class 4 state champion held a comfortable 46-23 lead as the teams adjourned to their respective locker rooms.

Coach Rally Axselle and his guys knew, however, that challenges lay ahead.

They knew the Warriors would not go away easily.

They knew that their 19-for-29 accuracy from the field was a standard tough to duplicate.

And en route to what would become a hard-earned 75-61 victory, they knew that their toughest obstacle could be the halftime break, for it could easily quell their intensity and stifle their momentum.

Didn’t happen, though.

“Coach Ral…great halftime speaker,” said Caleb Ogburn, a 5-8 senior guard and one of only four holdovers from last year’s senior-laden squad.  “He really gets in our ear about what we’re doing well and what we’re not doing so well.

“Thankfully, we had a really good first half, so we had a lot of positives that we talked about. That really boosted our energy.”

Though Axselle tweaked the X’s and O’s a bit, it wasn’t so much his words that made the difference but the enthusiasm and passion with which he delivered them.

“It was definitely how he said it,” Ogburn said. “If he’s said it in a monotone voice, then it wouldn’t have been as exciting. He knew how to keep us hyped up.”

The Raiders (1-2) led 22-13 after a quarter, then outscored Henrico (0-2) 24-10 in the second by hitting 11-of-14 shots from the field while limiting the Warriors to 4-for-13. 

“We were playing well in the back court,” Ogburn said. “We were passing the ball well and getting it out of our hands quickly. Definitely, our teamwork and communication helped us the most.”

Sophomore Connor Sledd scored six of his 11 points and junior Pierce Rempe eight of his 15 in the first half. 

Conner Wilcox, a 6-5 junior and the only returning starter, scored 11 of his 24 points in the second period. 

He scored on a jumper from the foul line and a drive through the Henrico defense. He snatched a defensive rebound, went coast-to-coast, and banked in a layup. He nailed a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner that ignited a 10-0 run. And he contributed the final points of the half on a short jumper from the paint after catching an inbounds pass from Ogburn.

“We had a lot of energy going into this game,” Wilcox said. “We’d lost the last two, and we really wanted this one. That really got me going and got all my teammates going.”

While the Raiders returned energized after the break, the Warriors did as well.

The visitors used relentless full-court pressure in an attempt to increase the pace of action beyond Atlee’s comfort level and outscored the home team 19-15 in the third and 19-14 in the fourth.

And DeSean Parham, known for his marksmanship, delivered 13 of his 24 points in the third period as Henrico cut its deficit to 61-42.

The 5-foot-8 senior penetrated the Raiders’ defense early on, then hit a jumper midway through the quarter, then drained 3-pointers in a late one-minute span to get the Raiders’ attention.

“We knew he was a really quick, athletic guy and a capable scorer,” Axselle said of Parham.  “We tried to warn the kids, ‘Here he comes,’ but we didn’t have much of an answer for him.

“We knew they’d make a run. You’re thinking, How much of a run are they going to make? They sped us up a little bit, and we said, Hey, the first half we played at our pace. Now we’re playing at their pace.”

Though the Warriors scrapped and clawed and defended full-court until the very end, the Raiders, albeit young and inexperienced, handled the faster pace and pressure of the moment with unwavering composure.

“Besides Conner Wilcox, nobody played (significant minutes) last year,” Axselle said. “And he missed the first four weeks with a broken (right) thumb (on his shooting hand), so he’s getting his feet under him too. 

“It’s whole new team. We have a big learning curve. We’ve improved a lot. I feel like we’re making some strides. We’re not where we need to be, but I can see some progress. They’re starting to understand what we’re asking of them. I’m proud of them for the improvement they’ve made so far. It’s been great.”